The German government intends to keep two of the three nuclear plants operational until mid-April to help prevent a potential power shortage in winter, the Minister for the Economy and Climate Action said on Tuesday.
Robert Habeck’s announcement means that the government has officially reversed the plan to close its nuclear plants by the end of the year.
Habeck said the decision to keep the two plants in southern Germany, Isar 2 in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim, north of Stuttgart, running next year is a “necessary” step to avoid a possible power shortage in the net.
Habeck’s party, the Greens, has long opposed nuclear power. In recent months, however, it has acknowledged that several factors could lead to a severe reduction in the Grid’s hard power supply this winter.
Opposition parties have advocated keeping nuclear power plants in operation and some are even advancing the reopening of some that have already been closed and the construction of more.
The plan to close the third power plant still in operation, Emsland in the northern state of Lower Saxony, by the end of the year remains in place.
Source: TSF
