BERLIN (RockedBuzz via Reuters) – Germany’s environment ministry on Sunday rejected a request by the state of Bavaria to allow it to continue operating nuclear power plants, saying jurisdiction over such plants rests with the federal government.
Germany pulled the plug on its last three nuclear power plants on Saturday, ending a six-decade-old programme, as Berlin adopts a plan to switch to fully renewable electricity generation by 2035.
The final shutdown, scheduled for the end of 2022, was postponed last summer to this year after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Germany to halt Russian imports of fossil fuels and raised concerns over the security of energy supply.
The Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday said Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder wanted to ask the federal government to change its nuclear exit law to allow the state to continue operating plants under its jurisdiction.
“Until the crisis is overcome and the transition to renewables is successful, we need to use all forms of energy by the end of the decade,” said Soeder.
The state is home to Isar II, operated by German utility E.ON, which is a 1,400 megawatt (MW) facility, capable of powering the equivalent of a metropolis.
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the permit for Isar II has expired and restarting the reactor will require a new licence.
“It is important to accept the state of the art of science and technology and respect the decision of the German Bundestag,” Lemke said in a statement sent to RockedBuzz via Reuters.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Markus Wacket; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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