Berlin, 08/03/2022
In a joint review report, the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy have stated that they do not recommend the continued operation of German nuclear power plants due to the war in Ukraine.
The German Nuclear Technology Association regrets this and nevertheless notes the following in this context: The assessment of the two ministries confirms that the nuclear power plants will certainly make their contribution to Germany's energy security if they continue to operate throughout the coming winter and could also be fully available again from late summer 2023.
A further worsening of the local energy supply situation, which appears likely to experts and therefore makes every possible contribution from available energy sources necessary in the short and medium term, is unfortunately not treated as a scenario or even mentioned in the government paper.
Overall, the ministries' assessment is obviously characterised by the political will to date to stick to the final phase-out date for nuclear energy in Germany instead of using every available resource to secure the energy supply in view of the current crisis situation in the energy industry and sharing responsibility for pan-European energy security.
The ministries' review report lists in detail why continued operation is not recommended instead of finding solutions. The core of the obstacles is of a formal legal nature. The fact is, however, that the available German nuclear power plants are recognised as being in an excellent condition in terms of safety and that there are no safety-related reasons to prevent further operation. With regard to the legal situation, the exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has lasted for over two years, shows for all to see that in situations of national importance, laws can be overridden or amended without much delay.
In conclusion, we can only hope that there will be no further escalation in the energy sector. In any case, the nuclear industry remains ready to do all it can to support the continued operation of German nuclear power plants to secure the energy supply, especially in the current exceptional situation.
Press contact:
Nicolas Wendler
Phone: +49 172 237 91 84
E-mail: presse@kernd.de
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