Germany’s leftist Chancellor sticking with the plan to phase out nuclear during an ongoing energy crisis has been slammed as “complete nonsense”.
Olaf Scholz, Germany’s leftist Chancellor, has come under fire from politicians and energy experts over his “nonsense” commitment to ending nuclear power in the country by the end of the year.
It comes as the country finds itself forced to burn unfashionable coal after Russia dramatically reduced the country’s supply of natural gas, a resource the central European state has become ever more reliant on as it terminated other kinds of energy generation to pursue its green agenda.
Now, according to a report by Der Spiegel, experts are telling Scholz to reverse course, with experts in the field of nuclear energy emphasising that it is not yet too late to extend the lifespan of the country’s few remaining nuclear reactors.
“We advocate using all available sources to get through the energy crisis better,” said a spokesman for the country’s nuclear energy industry association.
“In order to enable continued operation, hurry is needed,” the spokesman continued. “The power plants are in the process of being shut down. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get them back up.”
Scholz has dismissed the call, however, claiming that even if he wanted to keep the plants online, Germany would be unable to get the necessary fuel rods needed to keep the three remaining facilities up and running.
“The fuel rods last until the end of the year,” Scholz said. “…procuring new fuel rods takes twelve to 18 months. At least. That’s why nuclear power won’t help us now, not in the next two years, which is important.”
Green Fail: Dependent on Russian Gas, Now Germany Fires Up Coal Power Stations https://t.co/ojbQAd6eeI
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 20, 2022
The leader also claimed that while he “wholeheartedly [supports] the phasing out of nuclear energy”, he would allow the plant’s operations to be extended for a few years if it were possible, but that he does not believe it is.
This too has been derided as nonsense by the Chancellor’s political opposition, however, with the head of the centrist Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Markus Söder, dismissing the claim as “complete nonsense”.
“No sensible person can seriously create additional power gaps in a crisis like this, where there is already a lack of gas,” Söder said, dismissing the notion that an extension would not be possible due to a lack of fuel rods as “technical nonsense”.
“In the winter from January 1, we will have an additional power shortage in addition to a real gas problem,” the opposition leader also reportedly said. “There are no arguments, apart from purely ideological arguments, not to extend nuclear power.”
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