As the gas shortage looms, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck ruled out on Sunday any extension of the life of the three nuclear power plants still active in the country, reports Reuters.
"The energy gain would not be enough to make it worth reopening the debate on phasing out nuclear power given the consensus on the subject," said Minister Green during the government's open day.
He estimated that this would at best save only 2% of gas consumption this winter.
These last three nuclear power plants still active were to stop this year, as announced by former Chancellor Angela Merkel after the Fukushima accident in 2011. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the drop in deliveries of gas from Russia, some voices are being raised in Germany to ask for the extension of the life of the power stations.
The coalition divided on the subject
The ruling coalition in Germany is itself divided on the issue.
Liberal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, for example, said that we should not be "too picky, but reserve all possibilities", adding that he would be open to extending the power stations by "several years" in the current circumstances.
At the beginning of August, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself had opened the door to keeping the power stations, believing that “it could still make sense” not to cut them off from the network as planned.
Robert Habeck nevertheless said he was ready to extend the life of a nuclear power plant in Bavaria if a stress test showed that this was necessary to ensure the stability and supply of the electricity grid this winter.
