Nuclear Power Plants Could Stay Open, Says Germany
By Bojan Pancevski and Georgi Kantchev, Aug. 3, 2022, WSJ

Germany decided to phase out nuclear power over two decades ago, a plan that was greatly accelerated by former Chancellor Angela Merkel following the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011.

The 3 remaining reactors generate 6% of Germany’s electricity. Plans to replace them with gas were upset by the economic war with Russia, Germany’s main energy supplier.

The news comes as the global energy crisis, soaring prices for fossil fuels and climate concerns stir new interest in nuclear power. Some argue that nuclear power will be needed as a bridge as the world transitions to renewable energy. The U.K., Poland
and the Netherlands all plan to build new nuclear reactors.

In Germany, longstanding opposition to nuclear power generation is starting to shift. The original decision to phase out nuclear power was made 20 years ago by a coalition of Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens.

The energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine conflict has promoted a shift among German parties as well as the population.

Around 70% of Germans are now in favor of extending the life of nuclear reactors, according to an Insa poll from last week. A proposal to put off the shutdown has been gaining traction within Scholz’s government, which is composed of the Social
Democrats, the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.

The Greens, a party with roots in the antinuclear movement, are the key obstacle to the proposal, according to several officials.

Germany has come under pressure from its EU allies to prolong the life of its nuclear plants to provide more electricity for the European grid.

Germany’s environment and economy ministries in March recommended against extending the plants’ lifetime, due to legal and safety issues and a lack of fuel rods to keep the plants running. They said that an extension wouldn’t help the country’s
electricity output in the coming winter and the necessary investment would only be justified if the plants were extended for at least 3-5 years.

Scholz’s government has commissioned a stress test for the nuclear plants to determine whether their operations can be extended safely and whether it would help Germany’s energy supply. The final decision on whether to extend their life would be made
once the study is completed, which could be in the coming days, the chancellor said Wednesday.

Germany has already been forced to reopen mothballed coal plants, which are highly polluting and go against climate policy goals, to avoid blackouts if Russia turns off the gas supply.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-power-plants-could-stay-open-says-germany-11659533181

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On Friday, August 5, 2022 at 1:42:23 PM UTC+8, David P. wrote:

Nuclear Power Plants Could Stay Open, Says Germany
By Bojan Pancevski and Georgi Kantchev, Aug. 3, 2022, WSJ

Germany decided to phase out nuclear power over two decades ago, a plan that was greatly accelerated by former Chancellor Angela Merkel following the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011.

The 3 remaining reactors generate 6% of Germany’s electricity. Plans to replace them with gas were upset by the economic war with Russia, Germany’s main energy supplier.

The news comes as the global energy crisis, soaring prices for fossil fuels and climate concerns stir new interest in nuclear power. Some argue that nuclear power will be needed as a bridge as the world transitions to renewable energy. The U.K., Poland

and the Netherlands all plan to build new nuclear reactors.

In Germany, longstanding opposition to nuclear power generation is starting to shift. The original decision to phase out nuclear power was made 20 years ago by a coalition of Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens.

The energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine conflict has promoted a shift among German parties as well as the population.

Around 70% of Germans are now in favor of extending the life of nuclear reactors, according to an Insa poll from last week. A proposal to put off the shutdown has been gaining traction within Scholz’s government, which is composed of the Social

Democrats, the Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats.

The Greens, a party with roots in the antinuclear movement, are the key obstacle to the proposal, according to several officials.

Germany has come under pressure from its EU allies to prolong the life of its nuclear plants to provide more electricity for the European grid.

Germany’s environment and economy ministries in March recommended against extending the plants’ lifetime, due to legal and safety issues and a lack of fuel rods to keep the plants running. They said that an extension wouldn’t help the country’s

electricity output in the coming winter and the necessary investment would only be justified if the plants were extended for at least 3-5 years.

Scholz’s government has commissioned a stress test for the nuclear plants to determine whether their operations can be extended safely and whether it would help Germany’s energy supply. The final decision on whether to extend their life would be

made once the study is completed, which could be in the coming days, the chancellor said Wednesday.

Germany has already been forced to reopen mothballed coal plants, which are highly polluting and go against climate policy goals, to avoid blackouts if Russia turns off the gas supply.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-power-plants-could-stay-open-says-germany-11659533181

They have to restart their coal plants as they are faster to restart than restarting the old nuclear plants, which have to be stress-tested first. But all these actions will not last and sustained as daily maintenance is costly and tedious and laborious,
too. Soon they will be begging for natural gas from Russia'. The natural gas is cleaner and speedier and cheaper and more efficient in terms of utilization efficiency rate.

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