Study on the continued operation of nuclear power plants: BUND: “Nuclear energy is unsafe, unprofitable and unnecessary”

Study on continued operation of nuclear power plant
BUND: “Nuclear energy is unsafe, unprofitable and unnecessary”

07/28/2022, 17:46

Germany fears for its energy security. Very soon gas could no longer arrive from Russia. For some politicians, the solution is to leave nuclear power plants connected to the grid for longer. A new study examines the benefits and risks and comes to a clear conclusion.

The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) considers the continued operation of nuclear power plants to be unacceptable, and warns the Greens not to walk away from their no. “Demands for the continued operation of German nuclear power plants are populist,” BUND chief Olaf Bandt said in Berlin. He was “surprised” that the Greens were also considering continuing to operate. Meanwhile, its president, Ricarda Lang, has clearly rejected the continuation of the operation.

According to the association, a safety study commissioned by BUND shows that continued operation cannot be approved due to unresolved safety issues. “Nuclear power is unsafe, unprofitable and unnecessary,” Bandt said. “Anyone who, in view of looming gas bottlenecks, claims that a warm winter can only be possible with nuclear power is leading a false debate and calculating the performance of nuclear power plants.”

Bandt criticized the fact that both the opposition and the ruling parties frivolously negotiated the general agreement on nuclear phase-out, which was backed by a broad consensus eleven years ago. “To me, parts of the Greens are questioning the basic consensus when the party was founded with the debate over possible extended terms.”

Energy problems in the fall

Bandt noted that the power plant operators believed continued operation was technically feasible, but did not want to take financial and safety-related responsibility for the power plant. The federal government would then have to take care of this, with outdated security standards.

In the BUND’s opinion, the continued operation of nuclear power plants would not make a significant contribution to energy supply. To avoid a winter power shortage, it makes perfect sense to use coal-fired power plants, Bandt said. “We can still achieve climate goals if we advance coal phase-out to 2030.” Bandt also advocated limited gas imports through LNG terminals, but criticized the “huge planning for up to twelve new LNG terminals”.

Green leader Lang said on “ntv Frühstart” that the facts speak against nuclear power. This could not compensate for the lack of gas in Germany. Therefore, Lang criticizes the supporters of the Union and the FDP. Both would currently exceed in demand and “it is intended that with it the problems of autumn and winter are solved.”

Will Germany pay dearly?

The Greens have so far been against the continued operation. However, there are also other voices. Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt recently said on the ARD talk show “Anne Will” that in a real emergency situation it could be discussed whether fuel rods from operating nuclear power plants should be burned, which would keep connected power plants. to the network longer.

The president of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), Wolfram König, expressed skepticism about the longer deadlines. “In the current debate, a central aspect is missing: The most important point of reference when dealing with the high-risk technology of nuclear energy is and remains safety,” König told the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND). .

Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn, on the other hand, warned the stoplight coalition against a “half-way decision”. The stretching operation currently being discussed is not enough, he told the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft newspapers. “We need as many nuclear power plants as possible to continue operating for the duration of this crisis.” Everything else “otherwise Germany would pay dearly.”