Berlin (EFE)
In 2011, after the Fukushima catastrophe, the decision promoted by the government of the conservative Angela Merkel was approved by a large majority in the German Parliament -with 513 votes in favor and 79 against- but the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine has reopened the debate on a form of energy that until this Saturday generated 5% of the electricity consumed in Germany.
Initially scheduled for December 31, 2022, the Executive chaired by the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz delayed the disconnection of the last three reactors -Isar 2, Neckarwesthiem 2 and Emsland- by three months, after the stress tests to which they were subjected subjected to the electrical system will reveal vulnerabilities in the face of winter.
However, already in the final stretch of the shutdown, the German industry organizations have warned of the possible consequences for a sector punished by the high cost of electricity, while the Christian Democratic opposition -like the liberal government partners- have proposed various formulas to defer the disconnection of the reactors.
Scientists and citizens, against
At the same time, about twenty scientists, including two Nobel Prize winners, appealed yesterday to keep the last three plants in operation to achieve climate objectives, given the rise in CO2 emissions caused by greater coal consumption last year, while a poll commissioned by public television ARD revealed that 59% of Germans right now reject abandoning nuclear power.
In statements to EFE, Jonas Egerer, an expert in the energy market, explained that the current situation is partly due to the fact that after 2011 the Government did not take measures for a transition towards a totally renewable system, but instead conceived gas plants as bridge technology. long-term for electricity supply, thereby accepting a growing dependence on Russian gas.
Low performance
The professor at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg points out that the last-minute decision to extend the life of the reactors for three months was due in particular to the low performance of hydroelectric power plants in 2022 and to the problems of French nuclear, but In his opinion, “with the appropriate preparations” there is no risk to the supply for next winter.
However, he warned that, in certain scenarios, especially if gas becomes more expensive, the reduction in supply could boost electricity prices in the German wholesale market, with which the final cost and additional use of fossil fuels “could vary strongly based on various framework factors.”
Energy expert Anke Herold is more confident about the future. “In general, the electricity supply in Germany in 2023 is very secure and the production that is lost by nuclear power plants can be compensated without a problem,” she told EFE.
“It is also not likely that greenhouse gas emissions will increase again in Germany like last year, since the compensation will be made mainly on the basis of renewable energies,” added the director of the independent research center Öko-Institut.
Wind and photovoltaic plants
The three reactors still in operation generated a total of 33 terawatts/hour in 2022, he indicates, and that year the newly installed wind and photovoltaic plants produced an additional 20 terawatts/hour, to which another 13 will be added in 2023, with which the gap left by nuclear energy will finish closing.
In addition, Herold argues that the surplus in electricity production in 2022, of 26.3 terawatt hours, almost equaled the volume generated by the three reactors, and, if that were not enough, the plants that work with Fossil fuels have vast capacities that are not currently being used.