Energy Chief Criticizes Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out, Urges Swift Gas Power Plant Construction
Michael Lewis, the CEO of German energy company Uniper, has described the timing of Germany’s nuclear phase-out as a mistake in hindsight. “The exit from nuclear energy in the middle of the energy crisis was a mistake” Lewis told the Focus. “When I speak with energy managers and entrepreneurs abroad, they don’t understand why Germany has exited nuclear power but allows coal-fired power plants to continue operating.”
Lewis now advocates for the swift construction of new gas power plants. “The energy system of an industrial country like Germany cannot be held together with safety pins. We are already experiencing the bottlenecks in the event of a power outage, when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining” he said. In December, when the spot market prices for electricity almost quadrupled in individual hours, reaching over 900 euros per megawatt hour, the country was heavily reliant on electricity imports. “By 2030, a gap of around 20 gigawatts in baseload power plants is expected.”
Lewis has been the CEO of the largest German gas trader, which also operates coal-fired power plants, since June 2023. The company was nationalized in the wake of the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the federal government currently holds over 99 percent of the company’s shares. However, it must divest the majority of its stake by the end of 2028 in line with EU regulations.