German Economy Minister Robert Habeck considers it necessary to operate the two nuclear reactors in southern Germany during the winter, given the current situation. “As of today, I think it’s necessary,” Habeck said Tuesday night in Berlin. He referred to the situation in France, where many nuclear power plants cannot function due to maintenance work. The situation there continued to deteriorate in view of the winter, Habeck explained.
“Today I must say that the data from France suggests that we are going to call the reserve.” So the Neckarwestheim 2 and Isar 2 nuclear power plants would have to run longer than planned at the end of the year. For technical reasons, the final decision must be taken in December for Isar 2 at the latest, for Neckarwestheim this is also possible at the beginning of the year. Nuclear power plants must be operational by mid-April 2023 at the latest.
Lingen must go on anyway
In fact, as part of the nuclear decommissioning, the last three nuclear plants are due to be decommissioned by the end of the year. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, this should continue to apply to the Lingen reactor in Emsland.