Will Germany Return to Nuclear Power?

According to Christian von Hirschhausen, an expert in energy and infrastructure at the German Institute for Economic Research, Scholz has the most scientifically sound grasp of the situation.

Bringing nuclear energy back online was technically and legally “impossible,” von Hirschhausen told DW. There was no way to revert the decommissioning process over the next 18 months, he said, due to the time it takes to order, deliver and install equipment as well as enriched uranium.

“They would also need to implement a new set of safety standards and checks,” von Hirschhausen added, to replace those that have not been carried out in years due to the phaseout, and new laws to govern the power plants’ use.

Gas Crunch
As it was winding down its use of nuclear power over the past decade, Germany’s reliance on Russian energy sources was ratcheted up. Almost all of the country’s heavy industry is reliant on natural gas, as are about half of German homes for their source of heating.

Early this year, around 65% of natural gas in Germany came from Russia. Now, that has dropped to below 40%. In 2021, about 53% of Germany’s coal needed for power and industrial production was imported from Russia, which is to be reduced to zero after an EU-wide ban takes effect in August.

In order to head off an energy crisis, Berlin is looking to fill up its gas reserves from the current 60% to at least 80% by October, and to total capacity before the winter.

This plan has left politicians scrambling to secure new import partners for oil and gas and speed up the expansion of solar and wind energy. They have also reluctantly extended the lifespan of the country’s coal plants, despite promises to phase out coal entirely by 2030.

Many worry, however, that all this may not be enough, and they have been looking even further afield for new sources of energy. FDP lawmaker Torsten Herbst and Bavaria’s center-right state premier, Markus Söder, were among the first to suggest Berlin lift its ban on fracking, a method of extracting shale gas that is popular in the United States but highly controversial for the amount of methane it leaks into the groundwater.

Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck, of the Green Party, remains opposed to nuclear energy and fracking, and finds it hard to advocate for something as destructive to the climate as coal.

But increasing the use of coal, von Hirschhausen said, “is just a temporary measure. It makes sense if we want to build up reserves…so that there aren’t major shortages in the energy supply.”

In an interview with public broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday, Habeck vowed that the government’s ambitious plan to completely exit coal in the next eight years was still on track.

The coalition is set to debate ways to avert a potentially disastrous lack of energy supply in the next two weeks, with an eye to presenting a new plan at the beginning of July.

Elizabeth Schumacher is a DW journalist. This article, which was edited by Rina Goldenberg, is published courtesy of the Deutsche Welle (DW).