Skip to content
Magazine
Saturday, August 2, 2025
SUBSCRIBE
  • About Us
  • Belgium News
    • Belgium Police News
    • Brussels News
  • EU Institutions News
    • European Commission News
    • European Parliament News
    • European Council News
  • Europe News
  • World News
  • Belgium Business News
  • Culture and Society News
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
  • About Us
  • Belgium News
    • Belgium Police News
    • Brussels News
  • EU Institutions News
    • European Commission News
    • European Parliament News
    • European Council News
  • Europe News
  • World News
  • Belgium Business News
  • Culture and Society News
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
SUBSCRIBE

Scholz decides to keep German nuclear plants running

Sarhan Basem by Sarhan Basem
18 October 2022
in Europe News
Scholz

Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Making a difficult political choice, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to keep the country’s remaining three nuclear power plants running until mid-April, in a move seen as a compromise between his government’s coalition partners.

Germany was set to shutter its remaining nuclear power plants by the end of this year – a decision made more than a decade ago by Scholz’s predecessor Angela Merkel in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster. 

Facing public backlash against nuclear power, Merkel had set Germany on course to become nuclear-free, gradually phasing out nuclear power in the country’s energy mix, despite the critics who argued that nuclear power could help Germany go carbon neutral sooner than by relying on natural gas and coal to plug the gaps in renewable energy production.

With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, as Berlin turned away from Moscow as a source of cheap natural gas, Germany has been hit with a harsh reality that it will have to depend more on coal for its energy production, setting back its carbon neutrality plans, while rising energy prices and grid stability might necessitate further measures.

Nuclear or coal

The German Free Democrats (FDP) clashed with the Greens – both members of the Social Democrats-led (SPD) ruling coalition – on whether to extend the life of the remaining three nuclear power plants beyond their planned retirement date.

FDP’s leader, Finance Minister Christian Lindner argued that Germany needs all the energy production capacity it can muster, while the Greens’ leader, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck remained opposed to keeping nuclear plants running, even while acknowledging this could lead to more coal consumption.

On Friday, the Greens agreed with the plan to extend the life of two of the plants by mid-April, but they wanted to shut down the third – in the northwestern Emsland district – by the end of the year, as planned. The FDP, on the other hand, called for all three plants to remain open until 2024.

On Monday, Scholz announced his decision to keep all three plants operating until mid-April, as a sort of compromise between the two junior parties. Despite his intent, the Greens see the decision more as a necessary concession, while the FDP sees it as their political victory.

Efficiency plans

The three plants together currently produce some 6% of Germany’s total electricity, but two of them will have to be shut down for several weeks before end of year to reconfigure their fuel rods, as no plans were made to procure new ones for the plants.

While all three plants could stretch out their remaining fuel rods to last until mid-April, E.ON’s Isar 2 plant could in theory stretch their lifespan up to August next year, if needed. To continue producing electricity after those dates, the plants would need fresh fuel rods.

As fuel rods take up to a year to arrive once ordered, the time has already run out to reach a decision to keep the plants operating for longer, as even if Berlin wanted to keep them they would have to power down and await fresh fuel after April.

Scholz called on the finance, economy and environmental ministries to prepare a legal basis for the plants to remain open until 15 April next year. Coupled with this request, the Chancellor also instructed the ministries to prepare an “ambitious” plan to increase energy efficiency, and to make a binding agreement to phase out coal use by 2030 at the latest.

Related News:

  • Warm rivers threaten to shut down French nuclear plants
  • Germany halts plans to shut down remaining nuclear power plants
  • GlobalFoundries to invest $6bn in Singapore, US and German plants
  • Germany decides to legalise recreational cannabis use
Tags: Brussels LatestNews
Next Post

Strikes, and protests in France continue

Latest post

EU-elections-UK

EU elections: UK looks on from the “outside”

1 year ago
Galeries-Royales-Saint-Hubert

What Makes Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert an “Institution”?

1 year ago

Most Read

    Follow Brussels Morning
    Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

    Browse Important News

    Belgium News
    Brussels News
    Culture and Society News
    Economy News
    EU Institutions News
    European Commission News
    European Council News
    European Parliament News
    Europe News
    Health And Fitness News
    Southeast Europe News
    Sustainable Perspective
    World News
    Diplomacy News
    US Elections News

    About Us

    Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.

    More Info

    • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookies Policy

    Join Our Newsletter

    Brussels Morning Newspaper – All Rights Reserved © 2024

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Belgium News
      • Belgium Police News
      • Brussels News
    • Brussels Bubble
      • European Parliament News
      • European Commission News
      • European Council News
    • Wider Europe
      • Member States
    • World News
    • Business & Society
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Culture & Society
    • Policy Talks
      • Place de la Bourse
      • The Macro-Economist
      • Sustainable Perspective
      • Ambassador’s Corner
      • The American Angle
      • Southeast Europe
    • Print Magazine

    Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT