nuclear-news

Germany’s 7 oldest nuclear plants will not be re-starting

Oldest German nuclear plants to stay closed,  FT.com By Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin  May 27 2011 The seven oldest of Germany’s 17 nuclear power stations will not go back into operation when a three-month safety review finishes in June, the country’s federal and state environment ministers agreed on Friday.

The decision, announced after a meeting of the 17 ministers, is the first in a series of rulings about the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany, culminating in a final parliamentary vote to be held the first week of July.

Angela Merkel, chancellor, is scheduled to meet top policymakers from her Christian Democratic Union and her coalition partner the Free Democrats late on Sunday to set the agenda for a cabinet vote the week after next.

Her government is widely expected to propose closing the country’s last nuclear plant around 2021. The environment ministers on Friday discussed, but did not a agree, a final phase-out period of 2017-2022, officials said.

Ms Merkel ordered Germany’s seven oldest nuclear plants to become idle after the nuclear disaster in Japan, and signalled a shift in her pro-nuclear stance after reports by safety experts and the Ethics Commission on Safe Energy Supply, set up after the disaster…… FT.com / Europe – Oldest German nuclear plants to stay closed

May 28, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics