Bundesenvironment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) issued a forceful warning against the push for small, modular nuclear reactors. Speaking to partners at the “Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft” Saturday editions, he described the reactors as still “highly dangerous”. Schneider called the concept a large myth-talked about a lot, but implementation remains elusive.
He targeted his cabinet colleague, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU), who had recently voiced open support for the reactors. According to Schneider, only a handful of prototypes exist, and even those are unlikely to reach the market any time soon. If they do, they would probably appear only in isolated cases and would require expensive subsidies to operate. Importantly, he argued, the reactors would not solve the nuclear waste problem.
In the broader context of Germany’s energy transition, Schneider insisted that the Energiewende must receive priority and be accelerated, warning against “Potemkin villages” of quick fixes.
