German utilities say there is a strong economic case to keep the country’s recently shuttered nuclear power plants closed, even as energy imports continue to rise.
This stance contrasts with the “significant hype” in Europe and the United States around extending the life of existing reactors, writes S&P Global.
There is “no [economically] sensible way of bringing the plants back,” said Nadia Jakobi, chief financial officer of former plant operator E.ON, during the utility’s November earnings call. She declined to speculate on what would be needed to form a business case for a restart.
“I would just leave it as that,” Jakobi said. “Even if things could theoretically, technically, be possible, if … they’re not economically sensible, there’s no point in doing it.”
Germany closed the last of its nuclear reactors in April 2023, a decision criticized by the opposition alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union parties as “ideologically motivated and wrong.”
In November, the alliance called for the decommissioned plants to be reassessed for reactivation, writes Clean Energy Wire.
The plants had already operated three months past the shutdown deadline set by Angela Merkel’s government in 2011, following Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster. At the time, Germany anticipated that nuclear power could be replaced with a mix of renewable energies, coal, and Russian gas.
But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany cut off Russian gas imports, which left it scrambling to secure energy replacements. Supply was still tight when Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government shut the last nuclear plants down in 2023, leading critics to call for their extension. Since then, Germany has shifted from being one of Europe’s major power exporters to become a significant power importer.
The decision to close the plants also caused divisions within the governing coalition before the shutdown, wrote Politico. The Free Democrats had advocated to keep the plants on standby, questioning the timing of the decision and warning that national emissions would rise if fossil fuels replaced the nuclear power plants, which produced around 4-6% of the country’s power in 2023.
This November, Germany approved a plan to build four hydrogen-ready gas plants at a cost of €16 billion (C$ 23.7 billion) to meet power demand. Officials said the plants would complement “the consistent expansion of renewable energies,” key to ensuring steady power supply in times with low sun and wind, Politico reports.
Proponents of restarting nuclear power plants point to the recent reopening of the Three-Mile Island nuclear generator in the U.S. as evidence of feasibility. But restarting nuclear facilities “depends solely on political will,” says research firm Radiant Energy Group.
“Restarting Germany’s nuclear reactors is feasible and practical,” it adds. “No insurmountable obstacles have been identified.”
But plant operators in Germany say it would be an economic dead end. Markus Krebber, CEO of utility RWE, cited missing permits, a lack of qualified personnel, and concerns about economic viability as significant hurdles, making it “very, very unlikely that we’re going to bring them back.”
Lawmakers have also commented on the matter as Germany prepares for a federal election next spring. The CDU and opposition leader Friedrich Merz—a leading contender for chancellor—said the nuclear power plants could not be restarted without “a societal consensus.”
“The more time passes, the less likely it is that there will be a fresh start for the decommissioned plants,” Merz added.
