DThe protest flags at the nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim remain rolled up. The so-called cold reserve, when Economics Minister Robert Habeck wants to keep the power plant ready for use until mid-April, leaves the citizens’ initiatives in Ludwigsburg and Heilbronn politically cold at the moment. “We don’t want to demonstrate until October 9th and 22nd. What the Federal Minister of Economics has done is initially a declaration of intent,” says Franz Wagner from the “Bund der Bürgerinitiativen Mittlerer Neckar” (BBMN). They reject the “stretching operation”, i.e. the extension of the service life without procuring additional fuel rods, just as much as Habeck’s cold reserve.
Since 2018 they have been demanding that Neckarwestheim be shut down immediately because they claim to have discovered corrosion on safety-relevant pipes. “After the months of political pressure to continue operating the nuclear power plants, many gave up,” says Wagner. The Greens have not been interested in anti-nuclear citizens’ initiatives since 2011, and an open letter to the Green Environment Minister went unanswered. “As long as not all nuclear power plants are shut down, we will continue,” says Wagner.