Söder insists on return to nuclear power
If Markus Söder had his way, nuclear power would be celebrating a furious comeback in Germany. The CSU leader wants to massively expand nuclear energy. He has announced this as a goal for possible future government participation.
In the event of the CDU/CSU joining the government after the next general election, CSU leader Markus Söder is backing a massive expansion of nuclear energy in Germany. "Our goal must be to actually accept new nuclear power plants - smaller ones with a completely different energy output, with a completely different absorption of possible waste," said the Bavarian Minister President after a meeting of the party executive in Munich. Together with nuclear fusion, which would then be added, Germany's energy policy would have to be put on a completely new footing by 2040.
Söder emphasized that Germany is a ghost driver and an outsider in energy policy due to the traffic light government. Around 20 countries, including the USA, France, the UK and the host country, the United Arab Emirates, also called for an expansion of nuclear power at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai last week. The signatories also include Belgium, Finland, Japan, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine, but not Russia and China, which also have a large number of nuclear power plants. US climate envoy John Kerry had referred to statements from the scientific community according to which climate neutrality by 2050 "is not achievable" without nuclear power.
If climate neutrality is the most important approach for Germany alongside low energy prices, Söder said, then it also urgently needs a different energy strategy. "Falling back on coal is a climate sin until the end of the decade. I can only strongly advise against it." Söder went on to say that reactivating the decommissioned German nuclear power plants was not enough. "If we are responsible from 2025, we will take a completely different path and not just reactivate a few old nuclear power plants."
Ten percent of energy generation from nuclear power
In Germany, the last three nuclear power plants - Isar 2 (Bavaria), Neckarwestheim 2 (Baden-Württemberg) and Emsland (Lower Saxony) - were shut down on April 15. The nuclear phase-out goes back to a decision that the German government pushed through with the votes of the CSU during Angela Merkel's time as chancellor. Söder and CDU leader Friedrich Merz had repeatedly criticized this heavily due to the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine and initially called for at least a later nuclear phase-out.
They fear rising electricity prices in the future, particularly in southern Germany. The differences in electricity prices are due to the fact that the costs of expanding the grid are passed on to consumers in the region - even if the electricity is transported much further. As northern Germany in particular has relied on wind power up to now, it is more heavily burdened financially. The electricity price reform being sought by the Federal Network Agency is intended to compensate for this. However, Bavaria in particular - and therefore Söder - spoke out vehemently against different electricity price zones in August.
Nuclear power currently accounts for just under ten percent of global electricity generation. The highest level was 17.5 percent in 1996. In Germany, nuclear power has never been the most important source of energy; even at the height of nuclear power generation, it only accounted for a good third of annual electricity production.
The final storage of radioactive waste is often not taken into account in the criticism. For the "safe containment" of fuel rods, reactor walls and other contaminated components, the federal and state governments estimate a storage period of around one million years. In addition, nuclear power plants repeatedly experience malfunctions or even serious reactor accidents, such as in Fukushima. French nuclear power plants even had to be shut down as a precaution in the spring - and were therefore unable to generate any energy. Due to these problems, France had already produced less electricity in 2022 than it had for three decades.
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If elected into the government, Markus Söder aims to significantly increase Germany's reliance on nuclear power, potentially leading to the construction of new nuclear power plants. Despite Germany's nuclear phase-out, nuclear power currently contributes approximately 10% to global electricity generation, with France and the USA being major contributors.
Source: www.ntv.de
