EU Review to Press Germany to Abandon Nuclear Phase Out.

[NNadir]

One of Germany's leading energy companies wants to extend the lifetime of one of its nuclear plants in a move that anti-nuclear campaigners describe as an attack on plans to phase out nuclear energy in Germany.

German energy giant EnBW presented a rather unwelcome Christmas gift to the government end of last week when it sought to transfer part of the life span of one of its more modern nuclear reactors to an older one which was due to shut down in 2009 under a six-year-old phase-out plan.

EnBW's request provoked strong reactions over Christmas, including a stern rebuff from environment minister Sigmar Gabriel. But the Social Democrat minister’s word may not have been the last on the issue...

... EU may urge rethink on nuclear energy



Social Democrat environment minister Sigmar Gabriel is an opponent of nuclear energy. But he has grudgingly admitted that he cannot throw out the application so easily.



He is likely to come under added pressure from a European Union review of nuclear energy which is due to be published in early January. Parts of the report have already been leaked to the press and stress that nuclear power is important if the EU is to meet its ambitious climate protection policy goals.



Volker Hoff, a liberal member of the European parliament from Germany also argues that stopping nuclear power makes no sense anymore.



"It’s foolish to adhere to our national phase-out plan and at the same time promote an EU energy strategy that includes nuclear power," Hoff said. "In that way we are forcing our neighbors to increase their nuclear energy production for the entire EU to be able to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets."



Germany generates one third of its energy needs from nuclear power. Germans still overwhelmingly back a nuclear-free energy policy with a strong emphasis on renewable energies. But in view of skyrocketing electricity and heating bills that have angered Germans this year, the tide appears to be slowly turning.

Bold in mine.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2291357,00.html

I do not expect the German nuclear phase out, which is possibly one of the most abysmally stupid decisions ever made from an environmental standpoint, to last.