Continued use of third German nuclear plant “of little benefit” to energy crisis – consultancy
Clean Energy Wire
The Emsland nucelar power plant in northern Germany can only make a minimal contribution to gas savings and energy price reduction, a report by analysis company Energy Brainpool compiled on behalf of the eco-energy cooperative Green Planet Energy has found. Germany consumed 875 terawatt-hours (TWh) of natural gas in 2020 and Emsland can only compensate for a maximum of three TWh over a whole year, the analysts concluded. On top of that, a lifetime extension of the third plant in Germany's protracted decision to delay the nuclear exit would only have little effect on electricity prices, which are estimated to drop by about one cent per kilowatt hour in 2023 if all three remaining nuclear plants remain in operation. The analysts also said that Emsland’s northern location makes it less useful for grid stability, as additional energy is currently needed by industry in the south as well as in France, where old reactors taken offline for maintenance are causing nuclear power shortages.
Local politicians in Lower Saxony, the state where the Emsland plant is located, have repeatedly said that the plant is not needed for energy security in the region and should not be included in the overall nuclear lifetime expansion. However, coalition partner FDP has pushed for its inclusion in addition to the Isar 2 plant in Bavaria and the Neckarwestheim 2 plant in Baden-Wurttemberg, two states in the south of Germany.
