Germany Starts Historic Nuclear Shutdown

Kansas City Star ^ | November 14, 2003 | TONY CZUCZKA,, AP

[LurkedLongEnough]

BERLIN - Germany began phasing out nuclear power Friday when a 32-year-old power plant was switched off forever, the first step toward a historic shift in the energy supply of Europe's biggest economy.

Eighteen remaining plants are to be closed over the next two decades under an accord between utilities and the government that bears the stamp of the environmentalist Greens party, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's junior partner.

Germany's second-oldest nuclear plant at Stade in northern Germany, operated by the E.On Kernkraft utility, was powered down at about 8:30 a.m., the Lower Saxony state environment ministry said.

Plans call for the 660-megawatt plant to be torn down starting in 2005, after spent nuclear fuel rods are removed and sent to France for reprocessing. Demolition work is expected to take up to 12 years.

Germany is the largest industrial nation to willingly forego nuclear power, which currently provides nearly one-third of the country's electricity. Alternative energy sources such as gas, but also wind and solar power, are supposed to make up the shortfall.

Schroeder pledged to phase out Germany's 19 nuclear plants during his first election campaign in 1998, which brought his Social Democrats and the Greens to power.

After lengthy and tough bargaining, the deal with power companies was sealed in 2001. Legislation passed by parliament to back up the accord includes a ban on the building of new nuclear power plants.

The shutdown was a key demand of the Greens, a party that grew out of Germany's strong anti-nuclear movement.

Spent fuel from German power plants is sent to France and Britain for reprocessing but returns to Germany for storage, triggering regular protests by anti-nuclear activists when the shipments come back to a disputed storage site.

[ClearCase_guy]

My leader! Our economy is a shambles! Unemployment is high! Our population ages! Our tax burden is great! What will you do?"

"I propose to reduce our electrical power generation by 30%."

"Brilliant!"

[marktwain]

The Germans have gone nuts! Get rid of one third of your generating capacity, in an industrial nation, in order to rely on imported fuel more!!!

This is truely an insane ingnoring of reality!

[Old Sarge]

It's beyond boggling.

Germany, who was once among the mightiest of nations and cultures. Germany, with a reputation for industrial efficiency and precision.

Now, nothing but thralls to the Left.

About 3 years past, I heard on one of my occaisional forays into NPR, heard an interview of German college-agers. They were thaught in their schools that patriotism and love of country is wrong; the indivdual must be second to the welfare of the state; on and on in a litany of defeat.

The young of Germany have been broken. I weep for my father's people.

[biblewonk]

Germany Rocks! Long live windmills!

[Oztrich Boy]

"And Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream." < /Homer>

[M1Tanker]

My leader! Our economy is a shambles! Unemployment is high! Our population ages! Our tax burden is great! What will you do?" "I propose to reduce our electrical power generation by 30%." "Brilliant!"

For a second, I thought you were talking about Grey-out Davis!! ;)

The Germans go the way of the Dodo. I guess they may try solar power... in a country that gets 20 full days of sun a year (been there... really dreary). They do use wind power a lot, but the all-knowing Greens hate that too.

I know!!! Why not go back to peat fires?

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Germany is senile!

[M1Tanker]

Umm.... I think you're thinking about Holland......

[Our man in washington]

So thanks to the Greens, the number of greenhouse gas emissions will go up.

Whenever I get into an argument with leftists friends, they inevitably bring up global warming. One of my response is "if it really is such a threat that it will destroy the world, why do you oppose nuclear power? Given that the alternative is worldwide destruction in your view, how can you say nuclear power is too risky?"

They then bring up wind power, which strangely never seems to make a profit unless subsidized.

[biblewonk]

Hello!!! I'm talking about modern electricity producing windmills of which Germany has 13 gw worth.

[Our man in washington]

So thanks to the Greens, the number of greenhouse gas emissions will go up.

Whenever I get into an argument with leftists friends, they inevitably bring up global warming. One of my response is "if it really is such a threat that it will destroy the world, why do you oppose nuclear power? Given that the alternative is worldwide destruction in your view, how can you say nuclear power is too risky?"

They then bring up wind power, which strangely never seems to make a profit unless subsidized.

[M1Tanker]

About 3 years past, I heard on one of my occaisional forays into NPR, heard an interview of German college-agers. They were thaught in their schools that patriotism and love of country is wrong; the indivdual must be second to the welfare of the state; on and on in a litany of defeat.

I we thought we defeated NAZIism...but it keeps rearing its ugly head. All it did was change the "nationalist" in "National Socialist" with "world". It's still socialism, but makes the country subserviate to the world body. Kinda like what our "educational" system tries to teach in the USA.

"There is no individual, no God, no Family....Only the State"... The mantra of the National Socialist Left, or a line from 1984, your pick.

[1Old Pro]

Alternative energy sources such as gas, but also wind and solar power, are supposed to make up the shortfall.

It's not enough that they are sailing on the titanic, they have ordered their crew to pump water IN.

[Koblenz]

There are a few places where Windmills can be profitable. They can never supply the electricity needs of an entire country, but that doesn't mean they should be neglected completely. But environmentalists oppose windmills as well. Currently, a private developer is trying to build windmills off the coast of Nantucket, and the local environuts are going, well, nuts, because it'll destroy their views, make shipping hazardous, kill the really stupid birds that fly into the rotors, and worst of all, they'll actually produce electricity which will empower individuals.

[Teacher317]

Did they give any freepin' reason WHY? Has Germany, a nation famous for precision enigneering, ever had a nuclear accident, or even a scare?!?

[Pikamax]

wait.. so France is building more nuclear power plants and Germany is reducing??? whats wrong with this picture?

[M1Tanker]

Yeah, but I was reaching for a Dutch joke....and failed (no coffee yet).

We had rows and rows of them outside Baumholder in the Reinland-phalts area. The Greens dispised them because they may hurt birds and might change wind patterns. No evidence of either existed. I also don't see them increasing the number of windmills by 2000% with land costs at a premium.

[Cvengr]

I'm talking about modern electricity producing windmills of which Germany has 13 gw worth.

That must really enhance the panoramic vistas the Greens strive to improve with their 'environmentalism'.

/not