"Expensive and risky": Greens criticize Söder's push for mini nuclear power plants - Bavaria's nuclear standoff pits Söder's reactor plan against Green opposition
A dispute over nuclear energy has erupted between Bavaria's CSU leader Markus Söder and the Green Party. Söder wants to build a small modular reactor in the state as a pilot project, arguing for advanced nuclear solutions. The Greens have strongly opposed the plan, calling it unnecessary and risky.
Söder recently pushed for Germany to reverse its nuclear phaseout. He proposed using modern small reactors and nuclear fusion to secure future energy supplies. His latest call includes a single small modular reactor (SMR) in Bavaria as a test case.
Julia Verlinden, deputy leader of the Green Party's parliamentary group, dismissed the idea as 'an especially costly and high-risk technology'. She argued that small reactors fail to address current energy challenges and instead introduce new problems. Verlinden stressed that accelerating renewable energy expansion would make nuclear power obsolete. She highlighted that renewables are already Bavaria's most favoured energy source. According to her, they could quickly increase their share of the power supply. Verlinden also underlined the benefits of renewables: energy independence, grid reliability, local economic growth, and lower electricity costs for consumers.
The clash leaves Bavaria's energy strategy in question. Söder's pilot reactor plan faces strong opposition from the Greens, who insist on prioritising renewables. For now, the debate centres on whether small nuclear projects or faster green expansion will shape the state's future power supply.
