Germany eyes nuclear reserve

Germany may extend the lifespan of two nuclear power plants in the south of the country for about four months, by putting the units scheduled to close on 31 December into a reserve until mid-April, economy and climate minister Robert Habeck said on Monday.

Habeck said the 1.4GW Isar 2 and 1.3GW Neckarwestheim 2 plants in the south — where power demand exceeds generation — would be activated only during severe grid or power supply bottlenecks. Habeck said he will make this suggestion to the other members of the coalition government. There are persistent grid bottlenecks between Germany's wind-rich north and the south.

The government had tasked the country's four power transmission system operators (TSOs) with carrying out a security of supply "stress test" for the 2022-23 winter, for the government to use as a basis for its decision on allowing the nuclear plants to run for longer.

The four TSOs presented the results of the study on Monday. The study suggests that extending the lifespan of Germany's remaining three nuclear plants — including northern Emsland — would help at times of extremely low power generation, with the contribution to grid stability more limited.

Under the ministry's suggestion, the government would in November and December closely monitor issues such as water levels — important for coal transport — the availability of French nuclear plants and natural gas supplies. If in December it becomes obvious that the market is tight, the two nuclear plants would simply continue to run, Habeck said.

Habeck stressed that the 2023-24 winter will be "totally" different. Gas supply will be much higher, there will — "hopefully" — be significantly more renewable power installations in the system, and the problems faced by coal-fired generation — regarding transport or permissioning procedures — are likely to be reduced, he said.

By Chloe Jardine