CSU boss Markus Soder calls for a change in direction of German energy policy – including the construction of new nuclear power plants. “It’s not about building big reactors like before. I’m talking about smaller, smarter reactors like the ones that already exist in Canada,” said the Bavarian prime minister. World on Sunday. According to Söder, the state does not need to subsidize “mini heaters” as heavily as in the previous system.
In recent years, Söder has repeatedly opposed phasing out nuclear power. He justified this with the need for cheap energy. Even former nuclear reactor operators have long argued that nuclear power is the most expensive form of electricity generation, costing up to 49 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Söder said he also opposes state subsidies for energy production: “We want to build gas-fired power plants and expand renewable energy and ignore the fact that all this is heavily subsidized. We keep energy prices down with state money rather than relying on cheap electricity generation. Gas drilling is a taboo topic in Germany, instead we are shutting down nuclear power. We have to change course in this regard for the economy to recover.”
Söder wants to take advantage of domestic gas reserves
To revive its country’s economy, Germany must change its strategy. “What Germany is doing is dishonest: We buy fracking gas from the US, but don’t want to drill for gas here. We buy nuclear power from France and the Czech Republic, but refuse nuclear power from us. We buy rare earths abroad, but refuse to mine them in Germany,” Söder said. Therefore, he again called for the use of gas reserves in northern Germany. It is also worth seriously examining whether rare earth mining in Germany is beneficial.
In general, competitiveness must come first in Germany, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) explained, Söder said. We rely solely on electric cars and ignore the fact that we are destroying the combustion engine as well as our automotive industry. Thousands of jobs are at risk,” Söder said.
He also criticized the SPD-led Federal Ministry of the Environment. “In the Federal Ministry of the Environment, many things still depend on the old green dogmas. This strategic line has been shaped over the years by people who come from this environment. I would like to see more emancipation from the old Trittin school, and a more modern environmental policy instead,” said Söder. “You can talk to Minister Carsten Schneider, he is open. But the authorities often work on autopilot according to the motto: It doesn’t matter who the minister is under me,” he added.
Green Party politician Jürgen Trittin was Minister of the Environment from 1998 to 2005 and resigned in 2000 Nuclear power negotiated with.
