German Nuclear Power Plant To Shut Down After Reported Leak

As Germany desperately attempts to stave off a winter energy crisis, most recently seizing Rosneft refinery assets, a leak at a nuclear plant reported by the country’s Environment Ministry adds to the pressure, with operations now set to be shut in for a week as repairs get underway. 

Germany’s Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Bavaria on Monday reported a leak that will require it to go offline in October for repairs. 

The nuclear plant is already slated for a permanent shutdown at the beginning of next year as part of Germany’s plan to phase out nuclear power. However, given the looming energy crisis in Germany as winter approaches, there has been some discussion of delaying a phase-out of nuclear power. 

The leak at Isar 2 means that a week of repairs in October will be necessary if the power plant is to remain operational beyond December 31st, Reuters reported, citing the plant’s operator. 

Two weeks ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected the idea of extending the country’s use of nuclear power and delaying the phase out of nuclear power plants. Germany’s opposition conservatives have called on the chancellor to keep the country’s two remaining nuclear reactors online. Scholz has resisted this temptation, insisting that the country will have enough energy resources to make it through the winter. 

Under Scholz’s plan the remaining two nuclear reactors will be kept in emergency reserve but will not be producing any power, the Guardian reports. 

Germany solidified its plans to quit nuclear power in 2011. Under those plans, three reactors were shut down in 2021 and three more this year, with two remaining in the phase-out, including Isar 2. 

The move is increasingly unpopular amid an energy crisis. 

While Germany’s gas storage is now around 87% full, critics argue that Germany’s gas buying spree to fill storage has led to further soaring prices, which also affects neighboring countries. 

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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