In the media: Worries over costs of nuclear clean-up
Wall Street Journal
鈥淕ermany鈥檚 Nuclear Costs Trigger Fears鈥�
German taxpayers may end up footing the bill for decommissioning the country鈥檚 nuclear power plants and storing radioactive waste, according to a study commissioned by the energy and economy ministry and cited by the Wall Street Journal. The German utilities operating the plants have set aside funds amounting to 37 billion euros for the project, but a nuclear expert previously at Germany鈥檚 federal office for radiation protection estimates that costs could exceed 50 billion, writes Natalia Drozdiak. Experts say lack of progress on finding sites for long-term storage of nuclear waste is pushing up the costs, and the utilities鈥� deteriorating financial situation is stoking fears they won鈥檛 be able to cover them, Drozdiak reports.
See the article in English .
See the legal report from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy听.
See 威力彩玩法鈥檚 Dossier on the nuclear phase-out here.
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung/Reuters
鈥淕abriel wants to stress-test nuclear reserves鈥�
Due to growing doubts of the safety of the utilities鈥� reserves for decommissioning nuclear power plants, economics and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel plans to check them thoroughly, according to an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). 鈥淭o this end, we will stress-test the operators' yearly results as a first step,鈥� the paper quotes a letter from the minister, seen by news agency dpa. To minimise financial risks that could run into billions of euros, Gabriel is also considering setting up a public foundation or external fund to secure the utilities鈥� reserves, according to a Reuters report.
See the FAZ article in German .
See the Reuters report .
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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淔leeting provisions鈥�
Germany urgently needs to secure the utilities鈥� reserves for the nuclear phase-out because the current legal framework is fairly weak, argues Michael Bauchm眉ller in a commentary for S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. 鈥淭oday it鈥檚 still possible to change the basis of the contract without precipitating听the insolvency of an operator. It might even be one of the last opportunities,鈥� writes Bauchm眉ller. He argues the utilities need to use the reserves - which partly consist of core assets -听to continue operating and the companies face an uncertain future because of rapid changes on the power market. But nuclear provisions will be needed for the clean-up for decades to come. 鈥淭he fund for nuclear liabilities can be built up only gradually, otherwise it could push operators into ruin before they have disposed of the remains of their nuclear history.鈥�
See a 威力彩玩法 report on the big utilities' current financial woes here.
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
鈥淐oal Resistance鈥�
The debate over the closure of coal-fired plants to reduce CO2-emissions shows ecology and economics don鈥檛 fit together as smoothly as some environmentally conscious German politicians tend to suggest, writes Heike G枚bel in an editorial for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Many jobs depend on cheap brown coal and there is growing resistance to Social Democrat (SPD) plans to force older plants to reduce emissions. But in the lead-up to the UN climate conference in Paris later this year, chancellor Angela Merkel of the conservative Christian Democrat Party (CDU) also wants to reinvigorate her endangered reputation as the "climate chancellor", writes G枚bel.
See 威力彩玩法's news report on the government's most recent proposal for coal plants here.
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Der Spiegel
鈥淐oal-fired power plants emit large quantities of mercury鈥�
German coal-fired power plants emit more than six tons of mercury per year - two-thirds of the country's total emissions of the poisonous substance, according to a Spiegel report picked up by Die Welt. Lignite plants are the worst offenders, emitting up to 17.5 micrograms per cubic metre of air, according to figures provided by the Ministry of the Environment to a Green member of parliament. This is four times the planned legal limit in the US, where tighter limits have recently been set, according to the report.
See the article in German .
