nuclear-news

EU’s Oettinger Cool on Nuclear, Denies Subsidies Letter http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-13/eu-s-oettinger-cool-on-nuclear-denies-subsidies-letter.html By Stefan Nicola and Ewa Krukowska – Apr 13, 2012 European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said he’s “hesitant” about subsidies for nuclear energy, denying a report that regulators had received a letter calling for support for atomic power.

The U.K., France, Poland and the Czech Republic urged the EU in a letter to consider nuclear energy a low-emission form of power generation that would allow it to be subsidized, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported today.

“I have not received any letter nor request of any member state asking whether they can fund nuclear power with public money,” Oettinger said in an e-mailed statement. “Nuclear safety, not financing, has top priority for us.”

The U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change isn’t aware of the letter, an official said today, declining to be identified in line with policy. Denmark, the holder of the EU rotating presidency, received no such letter, Jakob Alvi, its spokesman, said by phone today. Germany, which plans to close its nuclear stations by 2022, also received no letter, said Stefan Rouenhoff, a spokesman for the economy ministry.