German leader rules out nuclear option to fill energy gaps

BERLIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that his government remains committed to phasing out nuclear power despite concerns about rising energy prices and possible future shortages due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Germany shut down half of its six nuclear plants in December last year and the remaining three are due to cease production at the end of this year as part of the country’s long-running plan to phase out conventional power plants in favor of renewable energy.

But the war in Ukraine has renewed fears that Germany’s power-hungry economy might be badly battered if Russia decides to suddenly cut natural gas supplies.

Opposition parties have called for the lifetimes of Germany’s nuclear plants to be extended, a proposal that Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the pro-businesses Free Democrats has said should be discussed in a “non-ideological” way.

Scholz, who leads a three-party coalition, dismissed the idea, saying a decision had been made to end the use of nuclear power.

“We also know that building new nuclear power plants makes little sense,’’ he said at a news conference with foreign correspondents in Berlin.

“If someone decides to do so now they would have to spend 12-18 billion euros on each nuclear power plants and it wouldn’t open until 2037 or 2038,’’ said Scholz. “And besides, the fuel rods are generally imported from Russia. As such one should think about what one does.”

“That’s why the government, all the governing parties unanimously, are counting on (...) the massive expansion of renewable energy,” he added.

According to Germany’s Economy Ministry, nuclear power currently provides only 5% of the country’s electricity.