Nuclear energy has experienced a "impressive renaissance" in Germany due to the high price of other energy sources, Wulf Bernotat, E.ON AG's (EOA.XE) chief executive, said Thursday.
"It's no coincidence that, together with renewable energy, nuclear energy in particular is currently experiencing an impressive renaissance," Bernotat told journalists. He said Germany should seriously consider extending the lifespan of its nuclear power plants.
Bernotat said the advantages of nuclear energy include the availability of nuclear sources, relatively cheap prices for nuclear energy and less price volatility.
Germany is in the process of gradually shutting down its nuclear reactors, with a target date of around 2021 - a move implemented by the country's previous center-left government. While Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative parties want to keep nuclear energy, the government's Social Democrats coalition partner wants it phased out.
Bernotat wants the government to revoke the nuclear phaseout to prevent a bottleneck in power supply.
He also said gas and coal are "indispensable" for Germany's energy mix and it that remains "debatable" whether Germany will succeed in generating 30% of its energy mix from renewable energy.
The conservative parties are lobbying strongly for a longer lifespan of nuclear power plants to help Germany meet its plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, compared with 1990, and Germany says it's willing to raise that to 30% if the U.S. and other big countries are willing to sign up to a global accord. Phasing out nuclear energy in Germany has raised fears that more coal plants are necessary to meet demand for power, which would push up C02 emissions.
A recent opinion poll showed that opposition to nuclear energy is retreating, with Germans now evenly split on a longer lifespan for the country's 17 nuclear power plants - 46% say they support a longer lifespan while 46% oppose it.
Asked about the possible formation of a Deutsche Netz AG - a company that would bundle all the transmission grids in Germany, Bernotat said E.ON is not interested in joining it.
"We have no interest in any participation in such a Netz AG," Bernotat said, adding that the company wants to completely sell its grid and is happy to then be a customer of a formation led by rival RWE AG (RWE.XE).
Earlier this year, E.ON offered to the European Commission to sell its ultra-high-voltage power transmission grid if the E.U. drops two other ongoing antitrust procedures against the company.
The announcement was followed by a discussion over the possible formation of Deutsche Netz AG.
RWE, which has said it intends to keep its power transmission grid, earlier Thursday said it was willing to take on systems management of the ultra-high voltage grid owned by the four German transmission systems operators, RWE, E.ON, EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (EBK.XE) and Vattenfall Europe AG.
Commenting on its investment plant in the U.K., Bernotat said E.ON "is interested in new projects" and locations for nuclear power plants in the U.K. "But we are not necessarily interested in taking a stake in British Energy."
British Energy PLC (BGY.LN) and French power giant Electricite de France (1024251.FR) are still in talks which could lead to EdF buying British Energy, but there had been speculation that E.ON might consider participating too, because British Energy is the largest nuclear power plant operator in the U.K.
Asked about negotiations with Russia's state gas firm OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) over the Yuzhno Russkoye gas field, Bernot said there is no specific timeframe for the negotiations but that talks won't go on forever.
For four years, the two companies have been discussing a deal under which Gazprom would sell a 25%-minus-one-share stake in its Yuzhno Russkoye gas field to E.ON's Ruhrgas unit in return for stakes in power plants in Central and Western Europe. However, amid sharply rising gas prices the talks have slowed.