BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that extending the life of Germany’s three remaining nuclear reactors beyond the end of the year “could make sense,” but he didn’t commit to the idea.
Opposition leaders and the pro-business Free Democrats, the smallest party in Scholz’s coalition government, have increasingly advocated a rethink of the long-standing decision to switch off Germany’s last reactors in December as worries mount about the impact of a much-reduced supply of Russian gas.
The idea of an extension is awkward for Scholz’s Social Democrats and, particularly, for the third party in the government, the environmentalist Greens. A Social Democrat-Green government launched the nuclear shutdown two decades ago, and opposition to nuclear power is central to the Greens’ identity.
The German government is awaiting the results of a new “stress test” on the security of the country’s electricity supply. The Economy Ministry in mid-July announced a test that would factor in a tougher scenario than a previous test, which found the country’s supply assured.