Shellenberger Says Yes, We Can Save German Nukes! - 2022

Nuclear Power Industry

Shellenberger reported on July 18, 2022 that the German government announced new "stress test" to reconsider nuclear plant closures. “Nuclear power does help,” read the headline of one of Germany’s most influential newspapers over the weekend. For years, the conventional wisdom has been that there is no point in trying to save Germany’s nuclear plants. Such pessimism even infected many pro-nuclear people. “It’s over for nuclear in Germany,” claimed a nuclear pessimist just 10 days ago.

Happily, pro-nuclear Germans never gave up, and their arguments are starting to have national impact. “Nuclear power does help,” read the above-the-fold headline in the weekend edition of the influential newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The editorial was written by the newspaper’s politics editor, Morten Freidel. “The federal government says there is no point in letting nuclear power plants run longer,” wrote Freidel. “But that's not true. Point by point one can refute their arguments. In truth, nuclear power can solve a lot of problems.”

Positive media attention for nuclear is, of course, not enough. “It’s too bad this wasn’t written two years ago,” tweeted pro-nuclear leader Anna Vero Wendland. “Rainer Moormann and I — with a view to climate protection and Russian energy dependency — sounded the alarm and sent a memo to the Bundestag. It was decided that the topic was politically dead forever. And yet, at that time, it was still possible to change course.” But now, just a few hours ago, Der Spiegel, reported that the federal government is “leaving a door open for the continued operation of the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany beyond the end of the year."

The news comes on the heels of a report by Die Welt that Germany’s Economy and Climate Minister, Robert Habeck, a member of the Green Party, has been lying to the world since February, falsely claiming that the nation’s nuclear plants can’t run for lack of fuel rods. And today, the German newspaper, Tichys Einblick, published a translated version of my article. Given Habeck’s history of lying to the public, it’s not clear if the latest announcement is for real. His spokesperson announced a “stress test” on the security of the power supply and said it would be “the basis of decisions.”

But there already was a stress test in March, notes Der Spiegel. If nothing is changed, three nuclear power plants, Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim 2, will shut down on December 31, 2022, if not earlier. "Nevertheless,” said a spokesperson for Habeck’s Ministry of the Economy, “let's calculate again and then decide on the basis of clear facts.” What, exactly, is going on in Germany? And what can we expect to happen next?

One recent morning, Shellenberger flew to Berlin, Germany to participate in a pro-nuclear demonstration tomorrow being sponsored by our allies at Nuklearia, a grassroots movement. They are calling their demonstration, “Kernkraft for Life,” or “Nuclear Power for Life.” They want to draw attention to the fact that people will die, around the world, if Germany reduces the global supply of natural gas due to its closure of nuclear plants. Clearly, there is a conflict within the government. A spokesperson for the Ministry for the Environment said the debate about extending the life of the plants was "in the realm of speculation.” The March stress test, he said, showed “very clearly” that “we do not recommend extending the term given the current situation.”

But the leading opposition party, The Christian Democrats Union, seized on the government’s announcement of a new stress test.

"We have been pointing out a possible power shortage for months, especially in the south,” a CDU spokesperson said. “The government must ensure security of supply, and draw on all the necessary options. This includes the temporary continued operation of the last three nuclear power plants.” Some sort of political deal will be required. In exchange for keeping the nuclear plants open, the government may also agree to lower the speed limit on highways, which could save modest amounts of energy.

What happens next is up to all of us. Environmental Progress recognizes that now is a crucial time to support pro-nuclear activity in Germany, and requests your support. All contributions are tax-deductible. The future is clearly not written. We can’t predict what will happen next, but we can help shape it.

Pro-nuclear activists in Germany were elated by the news today. “When Habeck promised to reconsider nuclear back in February, the government proceeded to publish an analysis afterward that lacked quality in every regard,” said Bjorn Peters, another pro-nuclear leader. “In response, we published accurate information as to why our nuclear power plants are still safe, and why there are no economic, technical or operational reasons not to keep them. Throughout the years, the Nuclear Pride Coalition and its global network of experts have been essential to that work.”

Shellenberger's work saving European nuclear plants dates back to 2016, when EP hosted a meeting in London of a handful of pro-nuclear activists from across Europe. The overwhelming consensus was that we should focus on lobbying EU politicians in Brussels, not try to build a grassroots movement, least of all in Germany. A minority of us disagreed, and supported the pro-nuclear movement in Germany, and created a “Nuclear Pride Coalition” to grow the movement in Europe.

Shellenberger suggests that Germans must build upon the growing, positive news media coverage and rapidly changing public opinion. A poll last month found that 68% of Germans were reconsidering nuclear closures, up from 40% before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It’s true that, for years, the conventional wisdom has been that there is no point in trying to save Germany’s nuclear plants, but it’s now clear that such pessimism was misplaced. The problem with such thinking is that it is too short-term, and under-estimates the capacity of people to change their mind, particularly in a crisis. People are starting to see that nuclear power does help.

As such, it’s very much far from over for nuclear in Germany. [See historical development (here)]