BERLIN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- In order to secure the energy supply in the coming years, 57 percent of German citizens were in favor of extending the operating lives of nuclear power plants in the country, according to a Politbarometer survey published by broadcaster ZDF on Friday.
Almost as many Germans were in favor of coal-fired power plants operating longer than currently planned. At the same time, 92 percent were also counting on an accelerated expansion of renewable energies, according to the survey among more than 1,300 eligible voters.
Earlier this week, Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck and Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection Steffi Lemke spoke out against extending the operating times of the country's remaining nuclear power plants, despite possible energy supply bottlenecks due to the Ukraine crisis.
"As a result of weighing up the benefits and risks, extending the operating lives of the three remaining nuclear power plants is not recommended, even in view of the current gas crisis," according to a joint report by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV).
In the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Germany accelerated its phase-out of nuclear energy. The country's last three operational nuclear power plants are scheduled to be shut down permanently by the end of 2022 at the latest.
The final coal phase-out is to be brought forward from 2038 to 2030, according to the coalition agreement of Germany's governing parties. Renewable energies are to be expanded more strongly, covering 80 percent of the country's electricity requirements by 2030.
Germany's energy supply had to be on "more robust pillars," according to BMUV and BMWK. To this end, the government started to take precautions to ensure that gas storage facilities were filled and reserves of coal were built up before next winter. ■