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Germany on verge of permanent closure of oldest nuclear reactors

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Berlin, March 31, IRNA -- Germany is on the verge of permanently shutting down seven of its oldest nuclear power plants, the German Press Agency dpa reported on Thursday.

It quoted the head of Germany's Reactor Safety Commission, Rudolf Weiland as saying that Berlin had to keep in mind the possibility of airline crashes on nuclear reactors.

According to German nuclear experts, the country's seven oldest nuclear reactors would not be able to withstand a plane crash.

Furthermore, upgrading the safety measures at the old reactors to withstand such a crash would be simply too costly.

Eight of the nation's 17 nuclear reactors are currently idle, either for repairs or because of a three-month security check moratorium ordered by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the aftermath of Japan's nuclear catastrophe.

However, there have been media speculations over the last days that the government is contemplating to speed up the timetable for shutting down all of the country's nuclear power stations, despite warnings that the costs may be massive.

An aide to Merkel confirmed on Wednesday that her party is likely to accelerate the closure of all the country's nuclear power stations, despite warnings that the costs may be massive.

The general secretary of the Christian Democrats (CDU) Hermann Groehe was quoted as saying in the daily newspaper Die Welt, 'The heads of the coalition government completely agree on the objective: speeding up the closedown. But key details have yet to be decided.'

Merkel has linked the dramatic loss in voter support for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in favour of the anti-nuclear Green Party in recent regional elections to public shock over the Fukushima atomic disaster in Japan.

German law requires all nuclear power stations to gradually close by 2036.

Groehe did not say how much sooner the reactors could be shut down.

Meanwhile, the general secretary of the CDU's junior governing coalition partner, Christian Lindner of the Free Democrats (FDP), said that eight of Germany's 17 nuclear plants presently idled should never be started up again.

German officials and experts stress that the problem of ending nuclear power within a decade would be the cost factor, estimated at hundreds of billions of euros.

This would be required to build overland lines to transfer power from vast new
wind-turbine farms to major German cities.

A tax on nuclear power was supposed to pay for the new grid, but a speedy closure of such nuclear reactors would mean minimal proceeds from such a levy.

Nuclear energy accounts for around 23 percent of Germany's energy needs.

Germany has been the scene of massive anti-nuclear protests in recent weeks as hundreds of people took to the streets to demand an end to nuclear energy in their country.

A clear majority of Germans oppose nuclear energy and are even ready to pay for higher utility bills.