Bavarian Premier Markus Söder Calls for New Era of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder called on March 15, 2026 for a pilot project to build Small Modular Reactors in Bavaria, framing the initiative as the dawn of a new era in nuclear energy. Söder, who leads the CSU and has served as Minister-President of Bavaria since March 2018, announced the proposal on the same day that multiple German outlets published critical responses from opposition politicians. The plan drew immediate pushback from the SPD and the Greens, who questioned both the safety and the practicality of the technology. The announcement placed Söder at the center of a renewed national debate over Germany's energy future, years after the country completed its exit from nuclear power.

Nina Scheer, a member of the Bundestag since 2013 and energy policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, rejected Söder's proposal in the sharpest terms. Scheer described the plan as "insane" — the German word used in reporting was "wahnsinnig" — and argued that SMRs carry greater risks than traditional large-scale nuclear reactors, not fewer. Her critique, reported by Spiegel Online and n-tv on March 15, challenged the premise that smaller reactors represent a safer or more modern approach to nuclear power generation. The Green party also expressed criticism of Söder's nuclear push, according to reporting by Stern. The opposition response underscored the depth of political resistance that any attempt to reintroduce nuclear power in Germany would face, even in a pilot form. „Wahnsinnig — SMR sind risikoreicher als herkömmliche Meiler” (Insane — SMRs are riskier than conventional reactors) — Nina Scheer via Spiegel Online

Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants in April 2023, completing a phase-out that had been accelerated following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011. The decision to exit nuclear power was one of the most consequential energy policy choices in postwar German history and was carried out under a coalition government that included the Greens. Bavaria had previously hosted several nuclear facilities, and Söder's CSU has historically been more open to nuclear energy than the SPD or the Greens. The current debate over SMRs is unfolding as Germany and other European countries face pressure to decarbonize their energy systems while maintaining grid stability.

The proposal also fits into a broader European trend. According to Der Tagesspiegel, support for nuclear energy has grown across the continent, with a number of governments and institutions reconsidering their positions on the technology. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed support for a renaissance of nuclear power and specifically for SMR technology, lending institutional weight to advocates of the approach. Söder's pilot project proposal in Bavaria can be read as an attempt to position the state — and the CSU — at the forefront of that European shift. Whether the proposal advances beyond the political debate stage will depend on federal regulatory frameworks and coalition dynamics in Berlin, where the SMR question has not yet been formally addressed. The Tagesspiegel reported on March 15 that the question of whether a nuclear comeback is realistic remains open, with technical, financial, and political obstacles still unresolved.