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Context: The previous government had decided to phase out nuclear power by 2020. After the last election the current revoked that decision and even allowed old

Context: The previous government had decided to phase out nuclear power by 2020. After the last election the current revoked that decision and even allowed old power plants that were due to be shut down to operate longer. So, if they hadn't revoked that decision, the seven reactors we are talking about her would have been shut down already or would be about to be shut down anyway.

ugh 16y ago
I don’t think all those seven nuclear power plants would already have been shut down – more like three or so. I listened to the press conference this morning and it sounded like their decision to shut down all seven pre-1980 plants had something to do with the relevant law. This law makes a distinction between pre-1980 and post-1980 plants which can be used to justify their decision. If the government wants to shut down power plants they obviously need some basis in law to do just that. There seems to be a section in the relevant law that allows them to shut down nuclear power plants but arbitrarily shutting them down is not possible. (At least if the government doesn’t want to pay damages to the operators.) The government probably is worried that a decision to arbitrarily only shut down certain pre-1980 nuclear power plants without a good reason for the distinction would run counter to the principle of equality.
- more_original 16y ago
  You're right, that's what I meant to say with "or would be about to be shut down". Three of the seven would have been shut down this year, another one in 2012 and the final three in 2013 (source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kernreaktoren_in_Deutschland http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kernreaktoren_in_Deut...). Last year it was decided to extend the lifetime of these reactors to 2019 or 2020.
ajju 16y ago
What are they replacing nuclear power with? From what I understand, Germany is one of the few countries ramping up manufacturing, which is a huge consumer of power. It's interesting that they are essentially cutting supply as demand increases.
- Riesling 16y ago
  The official plan is to have it replaced completely with renewable energy technologies by 2020.
- ugh 16y ago
  Fossil fuels and energy imports (short term) and renewable energy (long term). In 2010, 16 percent of all electric power in Germany came from renewable sources (6.4 percent wind, 4.2 percent bio mass, 3.2 percent water, 1 percent photovoltaics, 0.8 percent waste). Coal is at 43 percent, nuclear energy is at 23 percent, oil and natural gas are at 15 percent. (Source: http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Energie/Statistik-und-Prognosen/Energiedaten/energietraeger.html http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Energie/Statistik-und-Pro...) The current government thinks that ramping up renewable energy to replace nuclear energy until 2030 is realistic.

ugh 16y ago

I don’t think all those seven nuclear power plants would already have been shut down – more like three or so. I listened to the press conference this morning and it sounded like their decision to shut down all seven pre-1980 plants had something to do with the relevant law. This law makes a distinction between pre-1980 and post-1980 plants which can be used to justify their decision. If the government wants to shut down power plants they obviously need some basis in law to do just that. There seems to be a section in the relevant law that allows them to shut down nuclear power plants but arbitrarily shutting them down is not possible. (At least if the government doesn’t want to pay damages to the operators.) The government probably is worried that a decision to arbitrarily only shut down certain pre-1980 nuclear power plants without a good reason for the distinction would run counter to the principle of equality.

more_original 16y ago
You're right, that's what I meant to say with "or would be about to be shut down". Three of the seven would have been shut down this year, another one in 2012 and the final three in 2013 (source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kernreaktoren_in_Deutschland http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Kernreaktoren_in_Deut...). Last year it was decided to extend the lifetime of these reactors to 2019 or 2020.

ajju 16y ago

What are they replacing nuclear power with? From what I understand, Germany is one of the few countries ramping up manufacturing, which is a huge consumer of power. It's interesting that they are essentially cutting supply as demand increases.

Riesling 16y ago
The official plan is to have it replaced completely with renewable energy technologies by 2020.
ugh 16y ago
Fossil fuels and energy imports (short term) and renewable energy (long term). In 2010, 16 percent of all electric power in Germany came from renewable sources (6.4 percent wind, 4.2 percent bio mass, 3.2 percent water, 1 percent photovoltaics, 0.8 percent waste). Coal is at 43 percent, nuclear energy is at 23 percent, oil and natural gas are at 15 percent. (Source: http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Energie/Statistik-und-Prognosen/Energiedaten/energietraeger.html http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Energie/Statistik-und-Pro...) The current government thinks that ramping up renewable energy to replace nuclear energy until 2030 is realistic.