Germany Might Shut Down Nuke Power

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Monday December 14 10:22 AM ET 

BONN, Germany (AP) - Talks between the government and power 
companies on shutting down Germany's 19 nuclear plants will 
begin next month, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said today.  

Schroeder spoke after holding preliminary talks with four leading 
nuclear energy operators on a strategy for scrapping nuclear
power. ``All participants are prepared to reach an agreement,'' 
Schroeder said. No exact date was set yet.

The Social Democrats and the environmentalist Greens took power 
in October calling for an end to nuclear energy in Germany, a major 
policy reversal for the country.  

If the talks do not produce a deal after one year, the government 
says it intends to pass legislation setting a timetable on its
own.

Schroeder, who will chair the talks, said he was confident a 
``sensible solution'' would be found.

One aim of the talks will be to avert the threat of huge 
compensation lawsuits by utilities against the government if 
nuclear plants are shut down prematurely, government spokesman 
Uwe-Karsten Heye said.  

The government hasn't revealed its strategy for the talks yet. Many 
Greens favor a speedy exit over five or 10 years, but Schroeder has 
said about 20 years would be needed.  

Schroeder said the power executives reiterated in today's talks that 
the compensation issue ``must be considered.''  

Economics Minister Werner Mueller, a former utility company 
executive taking part in the energy talks, has ruled out government 
compensation for shuttered plants.  


Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
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