Posted on 05/30/2011 9:07:54 PM PDT by matt04
BERLIN (AP) Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, announced plans Monday to abandon nuclear energy over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with renewable energy sources.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hopes the transformation to more solar, wind and hydroelectric power serves as a roadmap for other countries.
"We believe that we can show those countries who decide to abandon nuclear power or not to start using it how it is possible to achieve growth, creating jobs and economic prosperity while shifting the energy supply toward renewable energies," Merkel said.
...
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, whose country relies on nuclear power to produce 80 percent of its electricity supply, insisted "there's no way" for the European Union to meet its emission-cutting targets without at least some nuclear power.
"We respect this decision, but it doesn't cause us to change our policy," Fillon said. France operates more than one-third of the nuclear reactors in the EU.
Sweden's Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren also criticized the German decision, telling The Associated Press that the focus on an end date was unfortunate and could drive up electricity prices across Europe.
(Excerpt) Read more at masslive.com ...
Nothing like making a rushed, politically-expedient decision based on an earthquake at a poorly-maintained, ancient nuclear plant — a decision in a nation nowhere NEAR a major fault line or a potential tidal wave.
To paraphrase South Park, WTF is wrong with German people.
That should seal their destiny as the Islamic Republic of Germany
They will abandon their plan to abandon nuclear power long before 2022
I guess Germany has decided to follow Spain down the drain.
Merkel goes where only a crazy old Spaniard went.
It will be the same result.
On a somewhat cautious note, I wonder if this is even possible?
And where on Earth is Dr. Emmet Brown with that Mr. Fusion???
WTF is wrong with American people?
Obama through the EPA is going to make American Coal Production of Electricity so expensive that you won't be able to afford it.
Nuclear Power is so expensive and regulated because an out of control government is hell bent on making it nearly impossible to build and run.
Obama loves windmills and solar panels which is even more expensive.
This the same lamearse Germany that decided to bailout Greece for a second time? =.=
There is nothing wrong with down sizing the nuclear power plant, to where it would be safer and more manageable . The units on an aircraft carried produce as much power as a medium size hydro dam and would be much safer.
Welcome back to the 16th century.
LOL, economics of scale, your produce one large plant all of the tooling and machinery is custom built for that plant, mass production of smaller plants will cut cost by billions. Now that is economics 101.
The question is, do you want a way to have nuclear power are do you wish to forget about it. Because I can tell you after this thing in japan it will be a very, very, long, long, long time before another one of this size and type will be built anywhere. And if you could get it built the insurance would be out of this world.
LOL
fine by me.
go backwards and make yourselves further irrelevant.
Nuclear energy is convenient until you have a meltdown. There is nothing you can do except wait, like for over a hundred years before you can even try to clean it up.
Check back at Fukushima, Japan a year from now and you will understand why the Germans made their decision.
I guess they don’t have any books in the libraries that describe the Middle Ages so they have to experience it for themselves: cold, dark, hungry, miserable...
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