Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is planning a so-called reserve operation for two nuclear power plants beyond 2022. But following a damage report at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant near Landshut, the project is now being put to the test once more. “The Federal Environment Ministry, like the Federal Ministry of Economics, is examining the new situation and its effects on the design and implementation of the standby reserve,” the environment department said in a statement on Monday.
Reactor valve leak info – no safety hazard
The energy company PreussenElektra informed the ministry last week regarding an “internal valve leak in the Isar 2 nuclear power plant”. Safety is not endangered. At the same time, the operator said that no repairs would be necessary if the nuclear power plant was shut down at the end of the year as originally planned.
However, the kiln must be repaired in order to be available for possible power operation beyond the end of the year. The ministry’s statement speaks of the plant being shut down for regarding a week – in October, “because the fuel elements in the reactor core were already too low in reactivity in November to start the plant up once more from the standstill.” The Ministry of the Environment noted: “Until now, the operator had always stated that the system would run at almost full capacity until the end of the year.”
New facts should be taken into account
The point, apparently, is that the Isar 2 fuel assemblies are already far weaker or more burned out than anticipated. This indicates that if the reactor were to be shut down at the end of December as required by law, it might indeed not simply be restarted. Only recently, the Isar 2 operator PreussenElektra warned that reserve operation was not technically feasible.
The Ministry of the Environment now says that in the course of the most recent notifications, PreussenElektra presented “some important new facts” compared to a letter from the end of August. The old information was also included in the so-called stress test on the question of a longer service life of the reactor beyond the end of the year. According to the ministry, the new information must now be taken into account in the plans for the availability of electricity production in 2023.
Economics Minister Habeck announced at the beginning of September that the Isar 2 power plants in Bavaria and Neckarwestheim in Baden-Württemberg should remain available until mid-April 2023 as an emergency reserve in the event of bottlenecks, in order to bridge any power shortages. The PreussenElektra parent company Eon explained on Monday that for technical reasons it was necessary “that the ongoing political discussions quickly lead to a clear result and that planning security for all those involved is created as quickly as possible”.
Lemke rejects demands from the Union and the FDP
So far, it is unclear, among other things, who decides whether the nuclear power plants are really needed. “We are currently talking regarding this in the federal government,” said Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) at the weekend. In the course of this, she rejected demands from the Union and the coalition partner FDP for longer operating times for the remaining German nuclear power plants. “We will not decide to extend the service life, but will clarify for the coming winter whether the nuclear power plants will make a contribution to security of supply,” she told the news portal “t-online”.
TÜV-Süd and various politicians from the CDU, CSU and FDP had repeatedly stated that Isar 2 was safe and might and must therefore be allowed to produce electricity beyond the end of the year. Isar 2 was built in 1988. In the past, critics of the extension of the service life had repeatedly pointed to the risks due to the old age of the reactor. In the course of the nuclear phase-out, the safety checks that were actually required every ten years had failed.
Criticism from environmentalists and the Greens
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) emphasized on Monday that the leak that became known and the repairs that became necessary as a result showed that Isar 2 posed a permanent safety risk. The power plant must therefore be shut down immediately. The comprehensive safety inspection of Isar 2, which is actually required every ten years, is now 13 years old. “Further safety deficiencies cannot therefore be ruled out,” says the environmental organization.
For Britta Haßelmann, leader of the Greens parliamentary group, there are now fundamental questions. “Unfortunately, we have to say that Eon’s information policy on Isar 2 is opaque,” she said in Berlin. The fact that new information regarding a leak has now appeared makes them concerned, especially since Eon has been claiming for weeks that the nuclear power plant is ready at any time to continue running beyond December 31st, explained Hasselmann.
Now it has to be clarified: “Since when do the Bavarian nuclear supervisory authorities and the operator Eon know regarding the leak?” All the facts would have to be on the table, because “there can be no compromises when it comes to the safety of a nuclear power plant”.
State government sticks to continued operation
The Bavarian Ministry of the Environment is sticking to the continued operation of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the “operational circumstances” reported by PreussenElektra are “safe from a safety point of view” and known to the supervisory authority. As the ministry’s press office informed BR on request, it was not a reportable event. The Bavarian Ministry of the Environment therefore sticks to the Appraisal by TÜV Süd confirmed attitude: “Continued operation of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant would be possible from a safety point of view.” In order to create the legal basis, a “quick change” to the Atomic Energy Act by the federal government is now necessary. “The security of supply for the people is of central importance.”
With material from Archyde.com, dpa and AFP.
