Germany Looks To Keep Last Nuclear Plants Running To Prevent Energy Disaster

Germany is strongly considering delaying the shutdown of its three remaining nuclear power plants to stave off energy shortages this winter, German government officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The decision to keep the plants open will need to be approved by parliament and has not yet been publicly endorsed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet, according to the WSJ. Germany is still debating several aspects of keeping the plants open as the results of a stress test and review of the country’s energy requirements will need to be considered; however, officials said the results are already clear even if they have not been officially released.

The push to keep nuclear plants open to continue producing energy comes amid Germany’s energy crisis that is being exacerbated by the cut-off of Russian natural gas supplies. German energy prices are skyrocketing and the country has begun to stockpile firewood to use as fuel in preparation for a winter in which energy demand will spike due to people heating their homes, according to German media outlet Deutsche Welle.

Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz said for the first time last Wednesday that it might be sensible to keep Germany’s final three nuclear reactors operational due to its ongoing energy crisis, according to Politico. However, the three facilities’ continued operation will only provide about 6% of the nation’s electricity as natural gas is most widely used for industry and for heating throughout the nation, according to government figures.

The three nuclear plants are expected to be kept operating until Dec. 31 as Germany faces a shortage of natural gas that is being exacerbated by Russian cutoffs and because the plants pose no danger to the public, the WSJ reported.

“The reactors are safe until Dec. 31, and obviously they will remain safe also after Dec. 31,” a senior German official told the WSJ.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection denied the reports about the decision to keep the plants open in a Tuesday press release.

“This report is incorrect and lacks any factual basis,” the spokeswoman stated. “The stress test to check the stability of the power grid is still ongoing.”

The Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Change directed the Daily Caller News Foundation to the press release.