Monday, 2 Jun 2025
America Age
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Font ResizerAa
America AgeAmerica Age
Search
  • Trending
  • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Money
    • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion / Beauty
    • Art & Books
    • Culture
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
America Age > Blog > World > Germany argues over nuclear shutdown amid gas supply worries
World

Germany argues over nuclear shutdown amid gas supply worries

Enspirers | Editorial Board
Share
Germany argues over nuclear shutdown amid gas supply worries
SHARE

BERLIN (AP) — Rising concern over the impact of a potential Russian gas cutoff is fueling the debate in Germany over whether the country should switch off its last three nuclear power plants as planned at the end of this year.

The door to some kind of extension appeared to open a crack after the Economy Ministry in mid-July announced a new “stress test” on the security of electricity supplies. It’s supposed to take into account a tougher scenario than a previous test, concluded in May, that found supplies were assured.

Since then, Russia has reduced natural gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to 20% of capacity amid tensions over the war in Ukraine. It cited technical issues that Germany says are only an excuse for a political power play. Russia recently has accounted for about a third of Germany’s gas supply, and there are concerns it could turn off the tap altogether.

The main opposition Union bloc has made increasingly frequent demands for an extension of the nuclear plants’ lives. Similar calls are coming from the smallest party in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government, the pro-business Free Democrats.

“A lot speaks for not switching off the safe and climate-friendly nuclear power plants, but if necessary using them until 2024,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the Free Democrats’ leader, told Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper. He called for Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is responsible for energy, to stop the use of gas to generate electricity.

Calls for extending the use of nuclear power are awkward for the other two governing parties, Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats and, particularly, Habeck’s environmentalist Greens. Opposition to nuclear power is a cornerstone of the Greens’ identity; a Social Democrat-Green government launched Germany’s exit from nuclear power two decades ago.

A government made up of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union and the Free Democrats set the nuclear exit’s current form in 2011, shortly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. It calls for the three still-operational reactors to go offline at the end of December.

Habeck has long argued that keeping those reactors running would be legally and technically complex and do little to address the problems caused by a shortfall of gas, arguing that natural gas isn’t so much a factor in generating electricity as in fueling industrial processes and providing heating.

“We have a heating problem or an industry problem, but not an electricity problem — at least not generally throughout the country,” he said in early July.

In this year’s first quarter, nuclear plants accounted for 6% of Germany’s electricity generation and gas for 13%. Lindner said “we must work to ensure that an electricity crisis doesn’t come on top of the gas crisis.”

Some Greens have indicated a degree of openness in recent days to allowing one or more reactors to keep running for a short period with their existing fuel rods, if the country faces a power supply emergency — though not to a longer extension.

Others aren’t impressed by the idea. That “is also a lifetime extension” for the reactors that would require a change to the existing law, “and we won’t touch that,” prominent Green lawmaker Juergen Trittin — Germany’s environment minister when the nuclear phaseout was first drawn up — told Saturday’s Tagesspiegel newspaper.

Critics say that isn’t enough anyway. Opposition leader Friedrich Merz has urged the government to order new fuel rods for the remaining reactors immediately. Senior opposition lawmaker Alexander Dobrindt called for three already-shut reactors to be reactivated and told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that “in this situation, lifetime extensions for nuclear energy of at least five more years are conceivable.”

And Scholz’s position? Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said last week that he is waiting for the results of the “stress test,” which are expected in the coming weeks.

The government has already given the green light for utility companies to fire up 10 dormant coal-fired power plants and six that are oil-fueled, and plans also to clear the way for dormant lignite-fired plants to be reactivated. Another 11 coal-fired power plants scheduled to be shut down in November will be allowed to keep operating.

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Brexit after Boris Brexit after Boris
Next Article Ramos, ex-Philippine leader who helped oust dictator, dies Ramos, ex-Philippine leader who helped oust dictator, dies

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian wore daring latex and leather looks to nephew Mason Disick’s bar mitzvah party

Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian chose bold looks for their nephew Mason Disick's bar mitzvah…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

A scientist was urged to not take a dangerous cosmic picture. He did not hear.

In the summertime of 1995, Robert Williams, then director of the House Telescope Science Institute,…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Dove Cameron Sizzling Pictures To Kick Off Her twenty ninth Birthday!

Dove Cameron resides as much as her namesake, spreading her wings and hovering into her…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

Israeli Mannequin Bar Refaeli — Buns on Blast on Tropical Bae-cay!

Israeli Mannequin Bar Refaeli ... Buns On Blast On Tropical Bae-cay! Revealed April 18, 2025…

By Enspirers | Editorial Board

You Might Also Like

FBI investigating multiple-injury assault in downtown Boulder, Colorado
World

FBI investigating multiple-injury assault in downtown Boulder, Colorado

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Australia information reside: Sydney ferries resume after heavy fog; Hegseth asks Marles to raise defence spending to three.5% of GDP
World

Australia information reside: Sydney ferries resume after heavy fog; Hegseth asks Marles to raise defence spending to three.5% of GDP

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Polls set to shut in tight presidential race in Poland – reside
World

Polls set to shut in tight presidential race in Poland – reside

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
Scholar protesters face expulsion from College of Melbourne over pro-Palestine workplace occupation
World

Scholar protesters face expulsion from College of Melbourne over pro-Palestine workplace occupation

By Enspirers | Editorial Board
America Age
Facebook Twitter Youtube

About US


America Age: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Terms of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 America Age. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?