After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Angela Merkel decided to phase out nuclear power.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz paved the way on Wednesday August 3 for an extension of the operating life of the last three nuclear power plants in operation in Germany. Berlin fears an energy crisis as the gas standoff with Russia bogs down.
The last nuclear power plants “are only relevant for the production of electricity and only for a small part of it”but “it can still make sense” not to cut them off from the network as planned, said the German leader visiting Mülheim an der Ruhr.
Germany has in principle decided to phase out nuclear energy at the end of this year. Berlin must decide in the coming weeks on the subject based on an ongoing expertise, the second of its kind. Once the results of this “stress test” known, “we will then draw our conclusions”said the Chancellor.
Faced with the stagnation of the gas crisis, Germany, like many other European countries, is seeking to compensate with other sources of energy. A questioning of the nuclear shutdown at the end of the year, decided in 2011 by Angela Merkel after the Fukushima disaster, would be a very strong political measure.
The three nuclear power plants still in operation, in Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg, contribute 6% of net electricity production in Germany. The question nevertheless divides the government coalition, the Greens being skeptical, and the liberals of the FDP for.