The imminent drop in gas supplies from Russia is piling pressure on Berlin from home and abroad to extend the lifetimes of Germany’s three remaining operational nuclear power stations beyond their scheduled shutdown at the end of the year.
The nuclear phase-out is a sacred cow for the Greens in the centre-left government but party members are no longer denying that the reactors, which account for 6 per cent of the country’s power generation, may need to stay operational for longer.
Robert Habeck, the economy minister, said yesterday that he did not rule out the plants’ operation beyond the end of the year under certain conditions.
He told the private television network RTL Aktuell that a “stress test” review of Germany’s upcoming power needs could produce a “special scenario” involving the continued use of nuclear power.
A number of factors are being considered, including reactor outages in France and the possibility of a shortage of the Alpine rainwater needed for power generation, he said.
The finance minister Christian Lindner, a member of the liberal Free Democrats, said on Wednesday: “It’s not a matter of many years, but we may have to get used to the idea of still needing nuclear energy in 2024, for example.”
A source close to the Greens leadership told the Financial Times that “all options should be on the table”, including extending the life of the Isar 2 nuclear station in Bavaria beyond December 31. It was suggested that the extension would last a few months.
The cut in supplies of Russian gas means that Germany and other European countries will be unable to refill storage tanks in time for the autumn and winter. The shortage could tip Germany into recession and saddle consumers with soaring gas prices, on top of inflation that is already at multi-year highs.
Germany’s most closely watched leading indicator, the Ifo business climate index, fell further than expected in July, the Ifo institute said on Monday. It warned that high energy prices and looming gas shortages had pushed Germany to the brink of recession.
Agreeing to keeping the nuclear plants open longer would be a blow to the Greens, but coalition sources said that the party could save face by arguing that it was necessary to show solidarity with other European countries.
France, which is heavily reliant on nuclear power, has been importing German electricity because its own output has been reduced by maintenance-related reactor outages and by the hot weather, which has limited the use of river water to cool reactors.