Germany’s government is weighing how the closure of the country’s last three nuclear power plants in December 2022 will affect its grid this upcoming winter as the country scrambles to secure sufficient energy supplies amid a decline in Russian gas deliveries.
A formal decision on whether or not to keep Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim 2—a combined 4.3 GW—operating beyond their currently scheduled phaseout date may not come for a few weeks. The government is currently conducting a second evaluation—a so-called “power grid stress test”—to determine whether the country’s three operational nuclear plants can contribute to keeping Germany’s energy supply sufficient throughout the winter.
