German Nuclear Update

After Germany's latest parliamentary election left the Bundestag in a deadlock, presumptive Prime Minister Angela Merkel has been forced to create a coalition government with the Social Democrats headed by her predecessor, Gerhard Schroder.

One of the main sticking points has been the phase out of Germany's nuclear plants. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union wanted to overturn it, or at least delay the deadline. Schroder's party, who engineered the deal with an assist from Germany's Green Party, wouldn't agree to any change.

Here's how it came out according to Bloomberg:

NUCLEAR ENERGY: The lifespan of Germany's nuclear-power plants won't be extended. An agreement signed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and power companies five years ago that aims to phase out nuclear power by 2021 will be left unchanged. Merkel initially sought to delay the phase-out to about 2027.

So it looks like the status quo for the foreseeable future, or at least until the next election.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment, Energy, Politics, Economics, Electricity Germany

Comments

Anonymous said…

We are running out of oil and closing nuclear plants - all at the same time. What program germans have to offset this? More coal stations? It's not that much coal, either, though it's probably ok for the next 20 years or so.

November 15, 2005 at 3:51 PM

Anonymous said…

I don't see how they can do it and still meet their pledge to honor the Kyoto agreement. So-called "renewables" can't carry the load (just ask the people in California about that). My guess is they'll end up importing more electricity, probably nuclear-generated in France. Imported electricity may end up being for the Germans what imported oil is to the U.S.

November 16, 2005 at 10:40 AM

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