Germany's Nuclear Phaseout Under Pressure

BERLIN, Germany, October 9, 2003 (ENS) - Germany's pro-nuclear state of Baden-Württemberg has returned to the offensive over the federal government's policy of phasing out nuclear power by 2022 following an admission by chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that coal burning will have to increase.

In a statement issued on Tuesday after a Council of Ministers meeting, the center-right state government also cited recent power failures around Europe as a reason for maintaining the option of atomic energy.

The Baden-Württemberg ministers are insisting that all energy supply avenues must be kept open to ensure security of supply without raising greenhouse gas emissions.

The federal government's new suggestion that one-third of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal fired power stations could be avoided still leaves the other two-thirds, said Prime Minister Erwin Teufel "and that remains too much."

Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Erwin Teufel (Photo courtesy World Bank Group)

The ministers said they are concerned about maintaining minimum generating capacities necessary for the operation of a stable electric grid, particularly in view of blackouts in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Scandinavia and in Italy this year.

German nuclear power plants have contributed significantly to a guaranteed supply of electric power, most recently during the extraordinary heat wave this summer, they say.

Baden-Württemberg is to hold discussions with its fellow center-right governed states of Bavaria and Hesse, an official told reporters.

It might also make a complaint to Germany's constitutional court in Karlsruhe over the current requirement for all nuclear stations to be switched off by about 2022. A similar challenge by the state of Hesse failed last year.

In a related development, the German government has decided to exempt the new generation of combined-cycle gas and turbine power stations from its ecological tax for a period of five years. As a result of the decision, two key power station projects worth one billion euros are expected to go ahead, the government said.

"We're demonstrating once again that even in difficult economic times climate protection and the creation of jobs are not mutually exclusive," said Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, adding that the government wishes to promote both renewables and "modern technology for fossil fuels."

On June 11, 2001, the nuclear power companies and the German government signed the phase out agreement, the Consensus on Nuclear Power.

Trittin, who maneuvered the nuclear power phaseout through numerous obstacles, says that Germany's phase out of nuclear power is a signal for the whole world.

The Stade nuclear power plant on the Elbe River will be decommissioned later this year. (Photo courtesy E.ON Kernkraft)

Operation of nuclear plants, which previously was not subject to time limits, is now restricted to 32 years from the date of startup. After this period, the right to operate expires. This gives nuclear power plants an average of 10 years left to run.

No construction or operation will be authorized for new nuclear power plants, Trittin says.

The 32 year old Stade nuclear power plant located in northern Germany on the Elbe River is being decommissioned at the end of this year. Commissioned in 1972, Stade was the first German nuclear power plant to produce heat as well as power.

{Published in cooperation with ENDS Environment Daily, Europe's choice for environmental news. Environmental Data Services Ltd, London. Email: envdaily@ends.co.uk}