Chancellor Angela Merkel had hoped that with a quick resolution, she could sidestep a national debate over nuclear energy. Many, though, see her new plan as a windfall for the country's power utilities. Opposition, both within her government and elsewhere, is on the rise.
Germany
Merkel's Nuclear Plan Encounters Mounting Opposition
Tuesday, September 14, 2010Germany backs Baltic nuclear power plant: Merkel
Tuesday, September 7, 2010Fresh from her controversial announcement that Germany aims to postpone abandoning nuclear energy, Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday threw Berlin's weight behind a planned four-nation plant in Lithuania.
"We'll do everything we can to ensure that this construction gets backing," Merkel told reporters during a visit to the Baltic state, saying German authorities could help bring potential investors on board.
German ministers clash on nuclear report
Tuesday, August 31, 2010(Reuters) - Two key German ministers took different positions on Monday on the length of time that nuclear power plants should be extended after Chancellor Angela Merkel reduced expectations for a long extension.
Merkel Wants Separate Payments For Nuclear Extension
Sunday, August 29, 2010LINGEN, Germany - (Dow Jones)- German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday said she is in favor of the country's nuclear power plant operators making further financial contributions in return for longer reactor operating lives, which would come on top of a tax on nuclear fuel her government has proposed to help reduce the public budget deficit.
Nuclear debate heats up in Germany over new tax and plant lifespans
Sunday, August 15, 2010Germany's nuclear power plants operators have threatened to pull out of nuclear power generation in protest of a proposed tax. The general debate over the future of German nuclear power has heated up again.
Controversial negotiations are underway in Germany between the government and energy providers as companies threaten to shut down their nuclear power plants over a proposed tax on fuel rods and Germany's debate over its nuclear energy future reignites.
Germany mulls nuclear extension
Tuesday, June 8, 2010BERLIN, June 7 (UPI) -- The German government will extend the running times of its nuclear power plants by no more than 10 years.
The decision is the product of lengthy government consultations over the weekend, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper reports. It would be a victory for Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen, who has campaigned for no or moderate running time extensions. A host of pro-nuclear state governors had lobbied to extend the running times by as much as 28 years.
German state vote may block nuclear life extensions
Tuesday, May 11, 2010FRANKFURT, May 10 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition may have trouble pushing through planned nuclear lifetime extensions after a German regional election on Sunday went awry for the government.
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, left Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Free Democrat (FDP) allies short of their previous state majority, leaving the make-up of the next government unclear.
The great atomic bluff
Sunday, April 18, 2010Constant hold-ups, skyrocketing costs, faulty construction…Finland’s new Olkiluoto reactor, touted as the great white hope for Europe’s nuclear sector, is looking more and more like a great white elephant – and casting a fat black shadow over the whole industry.
German nuclear talks messy, operators may still gain
Monday, March 8, 2010FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s nuclear power industry is no closer to knowing how long its plants may operate than five months ago when Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new government assumed power and promised to extend their lives.
Rifts inside her center-right cabinet over the merit of rivalling renewables energies and a local election potentially threatening her party’s leadership of a key state have delayed steps to free the 17 reactors from closure in the coming decade.
European nuclear energy academy to open in Germany
Sunday, January 31, 2010The European Nuclear Energy Leadership Academy (ENELA) is going to open in Germany to attract university graduates to the nuclear energy sector and train future leaders in the field.
The founding treaty of ENELA was signed here on Thursday by six European nuclear energy companies, which are shareholders of the academy.