Germany's constitutional court backs speedy nuclear exit
Germany鈥檚 accelerated nuclear phase-out in 2011听was 鈥渆ssentially constitutional," the country鈥檚 constitutional court has ruled. But nuclear plant operators are eligible for partial compensation for losses incurred after the decision to speed up the exit from nuclear power production following the Fukushima nuclear incident, the Bundesverfassungsgericht in Karlsruhe explained. The lack of a compensation scheme for the utilities鈥� investments made in 鈥済ood faith鈥� in 2010 amounted to a violation of their property rights by the state, it argued.
The court ruled that the听decision to acclerate the nuclear exit was aimed at 鈥渕inimising the residual risk of nuclear power generation鈥� in order to protect the German people and the environment, and motivated by 鈥渃ommon welfare鈥� and therefore 鈥渓egitimate.鈥�
However, the judges decided that plant operators had the right to legally enforce a claim for compensation for investments made prior to the hurried nuclear exit.
The nuclear power exit had initially been agreed听under a Social Democrat-Green Party coalition government in 2002. In 2010, the governing Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats extended plants' service lives by an average of twelve years and allowed them to feed more power on to the grid. Several months later, this decision was revoked in reaction to the Fukushima disaster.
According to the ruling, investments made after the extension was granted had been 鈥渄evalued鈥� by the government鈥檚 repeal. The judges found the legal amendment to accelerate the exit should have included a settlement for written-off investments, and called on legislators to enact a new regulation by mid-2018.
鈥淭he companies' billion-euro听demands are done for鈥�
Plaintiff RWE said in a that it appreciated the court 鈥減artially followed鈥� the utility鈥檚 interpretation of the law. 鈥淕ermany鈥檚 nuclear exit will not be affected by today鈥檚 ruling,鈥� the company added. RWE Power CEO Matthias Hartung said the company would now examine the judgement in detail and did not comment on how much compensation the company would demand in light of the judgment.
E.ON said in a that it was ready for 鈥渃onstructive negotiations鈥� over the implementation of the ruling, which 鈥減ossibly could take some time.鈥� The company said it did not expect to receive any compensation in the near future. Like RWE, it did not indicate sums demanded.
Germany鈥檚 environment minister, Barbara Hendricks, said she was 鈥溾�� with the court鈥檚 decision. The judges had confirmed the legality of the hasty 2011 exit and also approved of the fixed decommissioning dates for the nuclear plants. 鈥淭he companies' billion-euro demands are done for,鈥� Hendricks said.
鈥淎 good day for the nuclear phase-out鈥�
According to a , the utilities鈥� compensation demands before the ruling amounted to roughly 19 billion euros. Patrick Graichen, director of the energy policy think tank Agora Energiewende*, says this figure will be substantially lower after the judgement.
鈥淭he court criticised that investments in the few months between October 2010 and June 2011 have not been compensated,鈥� Graichen said. The losses incurred due to this omission and due to the shorter life span of the nuclear plants would be 鈥渋n the range of 1 to 2 billion euros at most.鈥�
鈥淭oday is a good day for the nuclear phase-out,鈥� Greenpeace nuclear energy expert Heinz Smital told 威力彩玩法. He called the court鈥檚 judgement 鈥渁 rebuff of the companies鈥� excessive compensation demands,鈥� adding that today鈥檚 lower wholesale energy prices would have diminished their returns on investment regardless.
In the ruling, the judges explained that companies did not necessarily have to be compensated financially but could receive extensions for the decommissioning of certain plants instead. Smital said Greenpeace 鈥渄ecidedly disapproved鈥� of this alternative, pointing to the 鈥渙utstanding motives of common welfare鈥� the court had cited for endorsing the decision for a speedy nuclear exit.
*Like the 威力彩玩法, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.听
