Germany Will Not Rush Nuclear Shutdown

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Germany's plan to extend the lives of its oldest nuclear power plants now lies in tatters, with the government admitting that the country will most likely ditch nuclear power completely within the decade.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has accepted in principle a proposal by the Christian Social Union (CSU) party, the Bavarian wing of her own political party, to exit nuclear power by 2022. The government has rejected calls in recent weeks to exit nuclear power immediately as "not responsible" but, at the weekend, she admitted that an exit from nuclear by 2022 is an acceptable scenario.

Speaking at a CSU seminar, Merkel said: "People want to know there is a concrete end date, and so we will speak of such a concrete end date. I find that the timeframe which the CSU sees as an option is an appropriate timeframe." Merkel's government is expected to reveal its exit deadline on June 6.

Her public statements follow on from the recent findings of a leaked report by the government's Ethics Commission on Safe Energy Supply, which concluded that Germany should exit the nuclear power sector within 10 years. It also suggested that the seven oldest nuclear power plants that Merkel closed temporarily for three months after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in early March, remain closed for good. For additional information, see May 12, 2011, article - Germany May Ditch Nuclear Power Within 10 Years.

A separate nuclear safety report, commissioned by the government, was submitted last week and cautioned against a hasty exit.

"According to the report, it is not responsible to exit [nuclear power] immediately," commented Germany's Environment Minister, Norbert Roettgen. "There is no argument why we should go head over heels today, to exit now, on technical or safety grounds." Both reports will be used to formulate the government's exit strategy.

Germany's 17 nuclear reactors traditionally provided up to 25% of the nation's electricity. Until the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on March 11, Germany's nuclear industry was celebrating a great turnaround in German energy policy. Despite the government voting through laws last November that would allow Germany's nuclear plants to operate for up to 14 years longer, the events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant have changed all of that. For additional information, see November 2, 2010, article - German Parliament Backs Extending Lives of Nuclear Power Plants.

Germany first ordered a three-month shutdown of its oldest seven nuclear plants in March, but growing political pressure and the public's anti-nuclear outcry point to the government preparing a strategy to shut down all of its nuclear plants between 2020 and 2022. For additional information, see March 28, 2011, article - German Nuclear Plants Begin Shutdowns.

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