'Germany's power supply secure despite nuke phase-out'

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Berlin, Dec 29 (IANS) The power supply in Germany is secure despite the country pushing ahead with its nuclear phase-out, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said.

At the end of this year, the operating licenses for the last three nuclear power plants in Germany will expire, and the facilities will be shut down permanently, reports Xinhua news agency.

The shutdowns are scheduled for the end of 2022 at the latest.

"This will complete another important stage of the nuclear phase-out agreed in 2011 and significantly increase nuclear safety in this country," the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi) said.

"Security of supply in Germany continues to be guaranteed," Habeck added.

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a nuclear moratorium, including a safety inspection of all nuclear power plants.

This led to Germany accelerating its phase-out of nuclear energy.

However, this has not affected the reliability of the power supply, BMWi said, which "has increased in recent years and is very high by international standards".

"It will remain at this high level in the future with the nuclear phase-out."

Meanwhile, Habeck stressed that "it is important to systematically drive forward the transformation of our energy supply. A secure supply of sustainably generated electricity is a key prerequisite for aligning our economy and industry with climate neutrality and thus creating sustainable prosperity".

According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 57 per cent of electricity generated in Germany and fed into the grid in the third quarter of 2021 continued to come from conventional energy sources such as coal, natural gas or nuclear energy.

--IANS

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