Bavaria tries to maximise nuclear power use lifespan – report

Bavaria's government wants to keep the nuclear plant Isar 2 running as long as possible, arguing that lagging grid development could leave the state short of power without it, Michael Bauchmüller writes for Süddeutsche Zeitung. The maximum amount of power Isar 2 is still allowed to produce under Germany’s nuclear phase-out law is set to expire mid-2020, long before the plant’s final decommissioning date at the end of 2022, the article says. The Bavarian Conservative (CSU party) government said that to ensure a secure electricity supply in the southern economic powerhouse state, “it is vital that the nuclear plant Isar 2 does not go off grid prematurely.” In a statement seen by Süddeutsche Zeitung, the state calls for the remaining capacity of other plants to be transferred to Isar 2, which is operated by utility E.ON close to the state capital Munich. Green Party nuclear expert Sylvia Kotting-Uhl called the Bavarian government’s demand “stupid, frivolous and dangerous,” pointing out that the state blocked the necessary grid expansion.

Read the article in German here.

See the CLEW dossiers on The Energy transition and Germany’s power grid and on The challenges of Germany’s nuclear phase-out for background.