German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he will extend the operation of Germany's last three nuclear power plants, in what's been described as a snub to the Greens in his coalition government.

Against the backdrop of an unprecedented energy crisis, the government had so far only agreed to keep two of the three power stations beyond the end of 2022, the date initially planned for a nuclear phase-out.

The Emsland plant, in the north of the country, was at the heart of a tug of war within the ruling coalition of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals, which was torn over the solutions to be found to the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

The chancellor finally moved on Monday as Europe's largest economy urgently tries to reduce its dependence on Russian energy imports, especially gas. Nuclear power currently produces 6% of Germany's net electricity.
But the decision is a further blow to Germany's economy minister, the Green Robert Habeck, whose friction with Lindner is becoming increasingly apparent.

The Bild tabloid said Scholz's decision was a "slap in the face" for Habeck, though Environment Minister Steffi Lemke — also from the Greens — said it was a mere setback to the nuclear phase-out. She tweeted to say there would be no "life extension" of the plants beyond mid-April.

Greenpeace called Scholz's decision "irresponsible". "The extension of the life of nuclear power plants exposes us all to an unjustifiable risk," said Greenpeace Germany executive director Martin Kaiser.