Angela Merkel declares Germany's nuclear phaseout decision was "absolutely wrong"

ByRod Adams

There has been a strong shift in the talk about nuclear power in the European Union, driven by concerns about global climate change, energy prices and increasing dependence on Russian oil and natural gas. Until recently, Germany’s official position has been that it would continue with its plan to shut down all of its operating reactors by 2021. That plan was designed and implemented under the direction of Gerhard Schroeder when he led a Social Democrat (SPD)-Green Party coalition government, but it was also a formal part of the coalition agreement between the Christian Democrats (CDU) led by the current chancellor, Angela Merkel and the SPD.

I have never understood why there has not been a greater call for the decision to be reconsidered, especially in light of the fact that Schroeder went to work for the Russian natural gas monopoly – GAZPROM – almost immediately after leaving office. That action has left me with grave suspicions about the motivation for pushing an agreement that would force Germany to import far more gas from Russia in order to make up for the power that the nuclear plants currently supply to the grid. Though there MIGHT be an innocent explanation, it sure seems logical for me to assume that Schroeder’s admitted desire to become wealthy had a lot to do with his official decision making.

Merkel has always indicated her personal support for including nuclear power as part of the energy supply solution, but she has also indicated that she was not going to unilaterally renege on the agreement during the time that her coalition was in power. The SPD has been firm in its continued opposition to nuclear power and some of the government ministers serving in the coalition government have made strong statements indicating that they would like to see the shutdown plan accelerated.

According to Merkel’s Conservatives Advocate Return to Nuclear Energy that all changed recently when the top leaders of Merkel’s CDU had a meeting with the top leaders of the Christian Social Union (CSU). During the meeting Ms. Merkel declared that the decision to phase out the existing nuclear plants in Germany was “absolutely wrong”. It is relatively rare for a country’s leader to declare that one of its official policies is absolutely wrong, especially in a country where coalition agreements are necessary in order to form a majority government.

It appears that Ms. Merkel is now actively seeking another coalition partner with a different position on nuclear power that will enable her government to function after the next elections – currently scheduled for September 2009. I am hopelessly ignorant about the election rules in Germany – is it possible to call for an early election there like it is in the UK?

Update NEI Nuclear Notes blogged about the same topic at Germany, Merkel Rethinking Nuclear Power

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

Similar Posts

  • Viewpoint from Bangor Maine – Nuclear power is coming back

    ByRod Adams

    Here is a link to a well reasoned viewpoint from Donald A. Grant, Ph.D., P.E. He is the R. C. Hill Professor and chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Maine. This piece is recommended reading for anyone trying to understand why so many people are waking up to the importance of…

  • The Economist Discusses Nuclear Safety

    ByRod Adams

    A commenter here on Atomic Insights pointed to a couple of interesting articles published by The Economist, a well respected publication that has never been much of a fission fanzine. One of the articles, published on March 19, 2009, was titled The critical issue of safety. Here is a quote from that article that demonstrates…

  • South Africa has a water distribution challenge

    ByRod Adams

    There is a lot of hand wringing going on in the South African press these days. Not only has the country experienced stress on its electrical power supply grid severe enough to result in rolling blackouts and curtailed power to major industries like mining that supply massive quantities of jobs and contributions to the Gross…

  • Comparing the Scale of Used Nuclear Fuel to Capturing Coal Emissions

    ByRod Adams

    The Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog has an October 17, 2008 post titled Coal Storage: Clean Coal’s Next Big Hurdle?. It attempts to put the challenge of storing CO2 from coal fired power plants into the same bin as the challenge of storing used nuclear fuel. It gives a completely inaccurate picture of the…

  • Personal aside from Rod Adams

    ByRod Adams

    Part of my persona and my “brand” is a hairy upper lip. In the past 31 years, I have only been clean shaven for a few days in Movember 2009. The occasion for that loss of mustache event was an opportunity to bring attention to men’s health issues by helping the Movember campaign to raise…