Overview
- Unionsfraktionschef Jens Spahn on Wednesday urged a fresh debate on reactivating recently shut reactors and cited studies putting the bill near 9 to 10 billion euros.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that reversing the exit would not fix today’s energy problems after earlier calling the phase-out irreversible.
- Plant operators pushed back, with PreussenElektra saying Isar 2 is not reactivable as dismantling resumes after a 2025 incident and is scheduled to run into 2040.
- Current law blocks new commercial reactors, so any plan for Small Modular Reactors — factory-built units still not in wide use — would need changes to the Atomic Energy Act.
- Energy experts say a restart would amount to a new nuclear program with long approvals and high costs, while EU pro-nuclear signals and an AfD motion keep the politics alive.