Back to nuclear power because of Putin?

Free State examines reactivation of shut down nuclear power plants

Created: 03/05/2022, 07:15

By: Sebastian Horsch, Cornelia Schramm

In the aftermath: The nuclear power plant in Gundremmingen has not been in operation since the end of the year.

But the dismantling of the power plant will take at least until 2040. © Lennart Preiss/AFP

Because nobody wants to be dependent on Russian energy anymore, Bavarian reactors like Isar 2 or Gundremmingen are suddenly being discussed again as alternatives.

Munich/Gundremmingen – Without a nuclear power plant, Anton Frei doesn't even know his hometown.

"I was two years old when it went into operation," says the deputy mayor of Gundremmingen - today he is 62. Operation was discontinued at the end of the year and the power plant has been in the follow-up since then.

"Most of the local people thought it was a pity to shut down this well-functioning commercial enterprise," says Frei.

But Germany is phasing out nuclear power generation.

At the end of this year, the last three reactors are also scheduled to go offline – Isar 2 near Landshut, Emsland near Lingen and Neckarwestheim 2. That's it.

In fact.

Because with Putin's attack on Ukraine, this certainty is also faltering.

Suddenly nobody wants to be dependent on purchased Russian energy anymore.

The federal and state governments are looking for alternatives.

And one possibility would be to extend the term of the last Bavarian nuclear power plant Isar 2 near Landshut, says Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU).

Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr (Free Voters) also considers further use to be conceivable.

In addition, the state government is also examining the restart of the nuclear power plant in Gundremmingen.

"Many here, including myself personally, would very much welcome reactivation," says the second mayor, Frei.

Nuclear power in Bavaria: the Free State is examining the reactivation of the power plant in Gundremmingen

The power plant operators also open the door a crack for politics.

In view of the current exceptional situation, they are "ready to talk about the technical, organizational and regulatory framework conditions under which extended use of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant would be possible, provided that this is expressly desired by the federal government," reports PreussenElektra.

RWE, the operator of the shut down nuclear power plant in Gundremmingen, is at least not ruling out a re-entry.

"If the authority approaches us in the course of an examination, we will of course provide the requested information," says our newspaper.

But although experts consider continued operation to be possible in principle, the project could prove complicated in practice.

PreussenElektra had recently pointed out that the necessary fuel elements were no longer available and that the necessary staff would first have to be built up again.

With power plants that have already been shut down, as in Gundremmingen, the challenges should not be any smaller.

Split: Markus Söder (left) is in favor of longer nuclear power plant runtimes, Robert Habeck is extremely skeptical.

© Tobias Hase/DPA

The final decision will be made in Berlin.

The traffic light coalition is currently examining an extension of the nuclear power plant runtimes, but enthusiasm is limited.

"Nuclear power would not help us for the winter of 2022/23," says Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens).

And the preparations for the upcoming shutdowns have progressed so far that the nuclear power plants can continue to be operated "only with the greatest safety concerns and possibly with fuel supplies that have not yet been secured".

"And we certainly don't want that," says Habeck.

Nuclear or coal - which power source is safer?

There are also dissenting voices in Bavaria.

On the one hand, of course, by the Greens.

"An extension of the lifespan for coal or the renaissance of nuclear power are daydreams of the die-hards," said parliamentary group leader Ludwig Hartmann yesterday.

Also because Germany is actually not in an energy crisis - especially not in the electricity sector.

“In fact, we are in an energy price crisis that we can only overcome in the short term through savings, efficiency and government support,” says Hartmann.

And even Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) is in favor of relying significantly more on coal again, but is more skeptical than Söder when it comes to nuclear power.

"The downside of nuclear power is the issue of safety," says Aiwanger of the "Augburger Allgemeine" - not least with a view to the events in Ukraine.

Gundremmingen's deputy mayor is also worried "when you hear that nuclear power plants in Ukraine are being damaged in battle."

But Frei is not worried about safety in Gundremmingen.

"The neighboring countries don't have as high safety standards as we do," he emphasizes.

"And the nuclear power plant offers the citizen safe and affordable energy."