Nuclear scandal in Scholz's cabinet?
Habeck's plan falls behind for the time being - Lindner calls for two nuclear power plant comebacks
Created: 10/05/2022, 10:35 am
By: Florian Naumann
Robert Habeck (left) and Christian Lindner at the "double boom" press conference on September 29.
© IMAGO/Christian Spicker
What happens to the German nuclear power plants?
The traffic light cabinet has postponed Robert Habeck's emergency plans.
For this, Christian Lindner goes on the offensive.
Berlin – The traffic light ministers continue to argue about Robert Habeck's nuclear power plant plans: Contrary to what the Green Economics Minister intended, the federal cabinet did not talk about the plans at its meeting on Wednesday (October 5).
A spokeswoman for the ministry admitted that the departmental coordination on the "operational reserve" nuclear was still ongoing.
Habeck's plan falls off the cabinet agenda: Lindner is now even demanding comebacks from two nuclear power plants
Habeck said a good week ago that as of today his ministry is assuming that the “reserve” will be drawn and that the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim nuclear power plants will continue to be connected to the grid in the first quarter of 2023.
Like the Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony, they should actually be taken off the grid at the end of the year.
In the traffic light coalition, however, there are very different views.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner not only campaigned on Wednesday to keep the active nuclear power plants running until 2024.
But even for putting nuclear power plants that have already been shut down back into operation, if this is definitely possible.
In a tweet, the FDP leader explained that there were "at least two" nuclear power plants "that we can bring back".
The energy generated in this way is “climate-friendly” and “plannable”.
For the time of the crisis, we should therefore not just leave the 3 remaining nuclear power plants connected to the grid.
There are at least 2 more we can retrieve.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) on Twitter
"Before we use public money, we have to exhaust all possibilities to make the burden for the taxpayer bearable," Lindner told the dpa.
This includes using all available energy sources.
"For me, it is not enough if only two power plants remain connected to the grid until spring 2023." Many European partners also see it that way.
"Anyone who speaks of solidarity in Europe should not only refer to money, but also to energy production," said Lindner.
Most recently, the traffic light was criticized by European partners because of its billion-dollar "double boom".
But the plans to get rid of the nuclear power plants were also heavily criticized abroad.
For his part, Habeck targeted expensive gas prices in friendly countries on Wednesday.
Nuclear power plant dispute in the traffic light: "Dangerous illusion" nuclear power - or "serious mistake" exit?
Criticism of Lindner came from economic expert Marcel Fratzscher, among others.
"It is a dangerous illusion to believe that nuclear power is a permanent solution to our energy problems," tweeted the head of the DIW on Wednesday morning.
A stretching operation can make sense, “but not new investments.
Nuclear power is expensive, dangerous and unsustainable.”
also read
Russian military train towards Ukraine raises nuclear fears – report on secret NATO warning
"Closer to dangerous line": Putin diplomat warns gloomy after US announcement on Ukraine delivery
Meanwhile, the Union is also working towards at least continuing to operate the third German nuclear power plant in Emsland that is still in use.
“Electricity is expensive because it has become scarce.
It is therefore a serious mistake that the traffic light government does not leave all three nuclear power plants connected to the grid for another two years," said parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn on Tuesday of the
Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung
.
According to a response from Habeck's ministry to a request from Spahn, the continued operation of the three nuclear power plants could also lead to a "decrease in coal-fired power generation in Germany by 1.2 terawatt hours".
According to its own draft, the Ministry of Economics actually wants to supplement the Atomic Energy Act and the Energy Industry Act.
In this way, the ground is to be created for an "operational reserve" limited to April 15, 2023 at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Lower Bavaria and Neckerwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg.
If necessary, “controllable generation capacities in the German power grid” should be maintained.
(
dpa/fn
)
