AW: Germany's retreat from nuclear energy begins

["Franz Schoenhofer" <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT>]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----

Von: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

[mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]Im Auftrag von Susan L

Gawarecki

Gesendet: Dienstag, 18. November 2003 19:22

An: RADSAFE

Betreff: Germany's retreat from nuclear energy begins





Germany's retreat from nuclear energy begins

http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-18/s_10497.asp



Tuesday, November 18, 2003

By Christian Charisius, Reuters



STADE, Germany — Germany switched off the first of its 19 nuclear power

stations recently, launching what it calls the world's fastest

withdrawal from atomic energy — but it's a policy that may still be

reversed if the opposition takes power.



------------------------------------



Dear Susan, dear RADSAFErs,



May I give you some background information, which might shed a different

light to the shut-down of Stade?



Stade would originally have been permitted to run into 2004. Obviously the

plant was now to be shut down for maintainance anyway and it would have been

a waste of money to invest in maintainance and repair for such a short time.

According to other information the plant was running at so high costs, that

no profit could be taken out any more. So it would have been shut down

anyway, whether there was an agreement between government and nuclear

industry or not.



The remaining time, which would have been permitted, is simply added to the

production time of other NPPs and there will be no decrease in the overall

production of nuclear electricity.



Therefore it is quite funny, how the Greens can celebrate the shutdown of

Stade as a victory over nuclear power!



Germany is at the moment in great economic troubles. It has (as France)

failed to comply with the European Unions rules for the maximum deficit and

it will fail a few more years to do so. Nobody has a clue how to replace the

nuclear-generated electricity if the phase-out would really be done. France

is already thinking of how to replace their old NPPs when they reach their

life-time, the same is true for Great Britain. Finland decided to built a

fifth reactor.



What is going on in the USA? Shortly after the new administration was

established I read a lot of revival on nuclear energy and new reactor

types - but there have been no news since long, neither in our Austrian

mass-media nor at RADSAFE.



Best regards,



Franz





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