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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The future of nuclear power generation in Germany has been secured following the German parliament's vote in favour of a policy that will extend the lives of its ageing nuclear plants.
After a year of bitter political infighting, Germany's coalition government has overturned the country's standing anti-nuclear laws to extend the life of the country's 17 reactors for an average of 12 years. It brings to an end the 34-year limit imposed by a previous anti-nuclear power government in 2002. Now, reactors built before 1980 will be allowed to continue operations for an extra eight years while newer plants will have their lives extended by up to 14 years. Before the changes voted into the country's Atomic Energy Act, all of Germany's nuclear reactors, which supply 23% of the country's power, were to be closed by 2021. For additional information, see September 12, 2010, article - Germany Throws 14-Year Lifeline to Nuclear Power Plants.
Energy companies E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) (Karlsruhe, Germany) will be expected to pay a heavy price for the extensions. A proposed nuclear fuel-rod tax will cost them 2.3 billion euros ($2.9 billion) per year between 2011 and 2016. They also will be charged 300 million euros ($381 million) each for two years, followed by 200 million euros ($254 million) a year until 2016, for the government to fund renewable energy projects.
The plants that are up for eight-year extensions are:
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
After a year of bitter political infighting, Germany's coalition government has overturned the country's standing anti-nuclear laws to extend the life of the country's 17 reactors for an average of 12 years. It brings to an end the 34-year limit imposed by a previous anti-nuclear power government in 2002. Now, reactors built before 1980 will be allowed to continue operations for an extra eight years while newer plants will have their lives extended by up to 14 years. Before the changes voted into the country's Atomic Energy Act, all of Germany's nuclear reactors, which supply 23% of the country's power, were to be closed by 2021. For additional information, see September 12, 2010, article - Germany Throws 14-Year Lifeline to Nuclear Power Plants.
Energy companies E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany), RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany), Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) (Karlsruhe, Germany) will be expected to pay a heavy price for the extensions. A proposed nuclear fuel-rod tax will cost them 2.3 billion euros ($2.9 billion) per year between 2011 and 2016. They also will be charged 300 million euros ($381 million) each for two years, followed by 200 million euros ($254 million) a year until 2016, for the government to fund renewable energy projects.
The plants that are up for eight-year extensions are:
- The Biblis A plant (1,225 MW), completed February 1975, operated by RWE
- Neckarwestheim 1 (840 MW), completed December 1976, operated by EnBW
- Biblis B (1,300 MW), completed January 1977, operated by RWE
- Brunsbuettel (806 MW), completed February 1977, operated by Vattenfall/E.ON
- Isar 1 (912 MW), completed March 1979, operated by E.ON
- Unterweser (1,410 MW), completed September 1979, operated by E.ON
- Philippsburg 1 (926 MW), completed March 1980, operated by EnBW
- Grafenrheinfeld (1,345 MW), completed June 1982, operated by E.ON
- Kruemmel (1,402 MW), completed March 1984, operated by Vattenfall/E.ON
- Gundremmingen B (1,344 MW), completed July 1984, operated by RWE/E.ON
- Gundremmingen C (1,344 MW), completed January 1985, operated by RWE/E.ON
- Grohnde (1,430 MW), completed February 1985, operated by E.ON
- Philippsburg 2 (1,458 MW), completed April 1985, operated by EnBW
- Brokdorf (1,480 MW), completed December 1986, operated by E.ON/Vattenfall
- Isar 2 (1,400 MW), completed April 1988, operated by E.ON
- Emsland/Lingen (1,400 MW), completed June 1988, operated by RWE/E.ON
- Neckarwestheim 2 (1,400 MW), completed April 1989, operated by EnBW
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
