nuclear-news

Germany ready to help Japan go non-nuclear The Local, 15 Sep 12 Germany stands ready to help Japan with the “demanding” goal of phasing out nuclear energy by drawing on its own nuclear exit progress, a government spokesman said on Friday.Steffen Seibert said it was a “big political and social task” to phase out nuclear energy but was worthwhile – and reaped new technological and industrial benefits.

In the immediate wake of the 2011 disaster at Japan’s Fukushima
nuclear plant, Germany decided to shutter its nuclear reactors by 2022
and ramp up the use of renewable power sources.

Japan announced its plan to phase out nuclear power by 2040 on Friday,
apparently bowing to public pressure after last year’s disaster, the
worst atomic accident in a generation.

“You can imagine that Germany, which has now had some experience of
the path towards the future of renewable energy, willingly stands with
all Japanese institutions with help in both word and action,” Seibert
told reporters, before underlining that Tokyo had only just made its
decision.

“The Japanese know what we too know – that they have posed themselves
a very big political and social task,” he said.

“It’s worth it for the nation that goes down this path. It creates new
technological possibilities, it creates new industry export potential,
but it is definitely a very demanding task, as we can say from
experience, he added.

Seibert also said he could see broad scope for Germany and Japan
swapping advice and expertise….
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120915-44981.html

September 19, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general