In the current energy crisis, an extended service life for nuclear power plants is also being discussed. An assessment by TÜV Süd comes to the conclusion that the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Bavaria could continue to be operated. The Federal Environment Ministry sees serious shortcomings in the arguments of the experts.
The energy crisis and the question of the continued operation of the remaining German nuclear power plants have triggered considerable upheaval in politics. The federal government and Bavaria are now arguing about a detail: the assessment of a TÜV analysis of the operation of two nuclear reactors in Bavaria. The Federal Ministry for the Environment has harshly criticized the methodology of the paper and states that this is “not an expert opinion”. The internal note is available from the German Press Agency, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported about it first. A spokesman for the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment rejected the allegations on Saturday and described TÜV Süd as one of “the most renowned experts and those most familiar with nuclear power issues”.
In view of rising prices and the threat of energy shortages, a debate has broken out about the further use of the three remaining German nuclear power plants. This is also controversial because nuclear power is mainly used to generate electricity, while the lack of Russian gas is used to produce heat. Proponents also argue with possible power shortages. The plan is actually for the remaining Meiler Isar 2 in Lower Bavaria, Emsland in Lower Saxony and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg to go out of service at the end of the year.
The Technical Monitoring Association (TÜV) Süd had written in its paper from April – entitled “Assessment”, not as an expert opinion – that it had no safety-related concerns about the continued operation of Isar 2 beyond the end of the year. A restart of Block C in Gundremmingen, Bavaria, is also “possible from a technical point of view”. The statement does not meet “basic requirements for expert opinions and serious expert statements and should therefore not be used for state decision-making,” writes the Federal Ministry. The paper does not meet the nuclear law requirements.
The head of the ministry’s department for nuclear safety and radiation protection, Gerrit Niehaus, complained in the note that the TÜV authors drew too far-reaching conclusions and failed to provide evidence for certain statements. At one point there is talk of “speculation”. Another says that the standard of an assessment is not named or “disguised”. The TÜV was not commissioned to “submit a comprehensive safety assessment”, but nevertheless came to the conclusion: “From a safety point of view, there are therefore no concerns about further operation.” The Federal Ministry for the Environment considers this to be inadmissible.
The spokesman for the Bavarian ministry, on the other hand, explained: “When evaluating central and decisive questions, the best possible expertise should be used.” That is why the ministry commissioned “both a safety-related and a legal report”. Security concerns would therefore “not prevent a temporary extension of the term”.
The chairman of the Nature Conservation Union in Bavaria considers the continued operation of nuclear power plants in Bavaria to be an “incalculable risk”. “We have 600 nuclear power plants worldwide, six of them are damaged – Harrisburg, Chernobyl and four blocks in Fukushima,” Richard Mergner told the “Nürnberger Nachrichten” (Saturday edition). “We also don’t have a repository. It’s like getting on a plane and you don’t have a runway.”
The head of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (Base), Wolfram König, called for “a new risk assessment” of nuclear energy, “also and especially against the background of the war in Ukraine”, as he told the specialist publication “Tagesspiegel Background”. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was captured by Russia, had previously been fired upon again, which is why the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is concerned. The opponents of the war blame each other.
Industry President Siegfried Russwurm meanwhile called for precautions to be taken to ensure that the operation of German nuclear power plants could be extended beyond the end of the year. “Politics and business should prepare everything for a possible temporary continued operation. And if we don’t need it then, we’ll be happy,” said the head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) to the dpa. With a view to the discussed stretching operation, i.e. the extended use of the current fuel, the BDI boss warned: “Time is running out.” While waiting for the results of the ongoing stress test, nuclear fuel rods would continue to be consumed. “Then the issue of stretching will take care of itself shortly.”
For the boss of the energy company Eon, which operates Isar 2, further use is “done for the time being”. This was discussed again in March with the government, which decided against it, Leonhard Birnbaum told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. The results of the current stress test in the electricity market are now to be awaited. Politics must decide. If they come to a reassessment on this basis, “we would try very seriously to enable the nuclear power plant to continue operating”.
On the question of whether Eon nuclear reactors that have already gone offline could be put back into operation, Birnbaum said: “The operating licenses for these plants have expired, and that cannot be cured with the stroke of a pen. You can’t just beam them back somehow.” That’s not a relevant discussion.
The industry price for electricity in Germany is currently five times as high as it was a year ago. This is a problem for many companies. Now more and more entrepreneurs are sounding the alarm. Among them also Trigema veteran Wolfgang Grupp. He warns of a “big wave of layoffs”.
The former SPD member of the Bundestag Johannes Kahrs has been under investigation for months. Now investigators found his locker 200,000 euros. There is an initial suspicion of favoritism for tax evasion.
Taxpayers should be able to fully deduct their pension contributions from next year. According to calculations by the Ministry of Finance, the affected citizens will be relieved by around 3.2 billion euros in 2023. In 2024, it is therefore still about 1.76 billion euros.
