Merkel delays extending German nuclear reactors' lifespans

Mar 14, 2011, 17:59 GMT

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Monday that Germany would delay by three months plans to extend the lifespans of its nuclear reactors, in order to run safety tests following events in Japan.

The partial U-turn comes just six months after the coalition government in Berlin controversially gave the go-ahead to extend the lifespans of existing reactors.

'The events in Japan teach us that risks considered to be entirely unlikely are not totally improbable,' Merkel said. 'We cannot return to business as usual.'

A majority of Germans oppose nuclear energy, and the issue has become highly sensitive for Merkel ahead of key state elections this month.

'We have a new situation which needs to be unreservedly, wholeheartedly and comprehensively analysed and only then will decisions follow,' Merkel said.

While most of the country's 17 nuclear reactors can keep on producing energy, the three-month moratorium will likely shut down some of the country's oldest reactors when they have produced the maximum contingent allowed under the old regulations.

The decision would not need new legislation, but be implemented after talks with the four companies that own Germany's nuclear power plants, Merkel said.

Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen, who came under criticism for dropping his initial opposition to a nuclear power extension, said that it was important to decide how much risk was socially acceptable.

'The longer nuclear reactors are running, the longer we are accompanied by a residual risk,' Roettgen said, adding, 'Since Japan, residual risk is not a statistical value but a terrible lifetime experience.'

Several hundred people, including the heads of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens, demonstrated in front of Merkel's Berlin office demanding an immediate end to nuclear power.

Further demostrations are planned across Germany on March 26, a day before two key regional elections in which the nuclear issue could swing the tide against her centre-right coalition.

'We don't want a moratorium. We want the nuclear reactors to finally be switched off,' called SPD-chief Sigmar Gabriel. He accused Mekel of playing 'tactical games' with citizens ahead of elections.

Merkel's government agreed in September to extend the lifespan of its 17 nuclear plants, going back on a pledge of a gradual phase-out under previous chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Green party coalition allies.

According to the deal, older nuclear plants would remain in production for eight more years beyond 2021 while more recent ones were to stay online for a further 14 years, until around the year 2035.

However Merkel stressed that all this was up for reassessment.

'The situation after the moratorium will be different to the situation before the moratorium,' the chancellor said, stressing that the aim was to speed up the transition to renewable energy.

Germany is one of the few countries that views nuclear power as a transition technology, to be wound down over time. Many other EU states have refocused on nuclear power in recent years as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Merkel said she would push for an international discussion about the consequences of events in Japan, and said the issue of comparable security standards across Europe should be addressed in coming months.

The chancellor said that nuclear energy was still necessary for the time being, but stressed, 'Safety stands above everything.'

Merkel's coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats faces three important regional elections this month, including the populous state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where it is being challenged by the anti-nuclear Green Party.

On Saturday, 40,000 people formed a 45-kilometre human chain in Baden-Wuerttemberg demanding an immediate end to the use of nuclear energy.

The state is home to the country's second-oldest nuclear generator, Neckarwestheim I which opened in 1976. It will now close down as a result of the moratorium, Roettgen announced on Monday.

The country's oldest reactor, Biblis A which opened in 1974, is likely to run until May.

Shares in German nuclear energy providers Eon and RWE plummeted on Monday.

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