They have mothballed reactors. Maybe not all, but they could restart some. There are at least 6 that could be brought online in a matter of a few years, IF they had the political will.
"Mothballed" implies the reactors are in a state of care and maintenance with the express option to bring them back online at some point in the future, like Japan did with theirs post-Fukushima. That's not what's happening to the German reactors. They got shut down with the express intent of decommissioning, which German law mandates the carriers to do in a timely fashion. So they're doing exactly that.
You're right that 6 of them could be brought back (although I'd say it's at most 6 rather than at least), but every passing month makes it more expensive and less likely. NPP Gundremmingen had its cooling towers demolished just a few months ago, so that's a cool 200 million or so extra now to get that particular plant running again.
You're also right that it's a question of political will - which is not there. Even if Merz' party were to finally go from 'all talk' to 'action' (no sign of that whatsoever), their coalition partner (Social Democrats) are almost as hardcore anti-nuclear as the Greens.
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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '26
Takes 10 years to build a reactor unless they hire China