The SPD has rejected CSU leader Söder’s push to build smaller nuclear reactors because they are expensive, unsafe and cause more nuclear waste. There has also been criticism of false claims about “mini heaters” in Canada.
The SPD in the Bundestag firmly rejected Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder’s request to introduce smaller nuclear reactors in Germany to produce cost-effective energy. Nina Scheer, energy policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, told the Welt newspaper that “nuclear energy production is the most expensive form of energy production.”
Small modular reactors (SMRs), like conventional nuclear power plants, pose enormous safety risks and produce more nuclear waste than larger nuclear reactors. Scheer said it would be “irresponsible to ignore these facts and place the burden on the general public, starting with insurance.”
Renewable energy combined with storage is much cheaper and provides a faster supply of clean, safe and domestically available energy, the SPD politician said.
Incorrect reference to Canada
Söder previously called for the construction of new small nuclear power plants – so-called mini reactors. In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, he explained that these “small, smart reactors” require fewer subsidies than before. Söder also claims that there are already “mini reactors” in Canada.
Scheer rejects this claim. In Canada, “there is only one building permit valid until 2035, but no use of mini nuclear power plants.”
In fact, according to the Canadian government, there are no such reactors in Canada yet. So far, only preparatory work has been carried out in the Ontario region – with the aim of starting the first reactor around 2030.
