Germany eyes new scheme to keep old nuclear[fr][de] 

The companies are proposing a scheme whereby profits from the sale of nuclear energy would be funnelled into clean energy research or used to ease rising energy costs for German households, the Financial Times reported on 25 August. 

Since most of Germany's nuclear plants have already been depreciated, or paid off, the production of electricity in nuclear power facilities is relatively cheap, particularly in a context of high oil prices. If the lifespan of existing plants were to be extended by 25 years, profits could translate into 3,000 euros for every German citizen, RWE said in a 30 June press statement.

"The people and the politicians have been asking us what we would do with the additional profits," Gerd Jäger, responsible for nuclear on the board of RWE, told the Financial Times. "What we are now saying is: we are going to give you some of it back," he said.

Energy companies hope the promise of low cost energy will lead to a more favourable attitude by German politicians and the general public towards nuclear, which has received renewed attention as a potentially beneficial 'low carbon' energy technology.

Last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned the German government that discontinuing nuclear would limit the country's potential to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (EurActiv 29/07/07). The Commission has also endorsed nuclear in its efforts to build a low carbon EU energy system (EurActiv 15/10/07).

But the country's current ruling coalition is unlikely to touch the phase out, says Thomas Breuer, a nuclear expert at Greenpeace Germany. 

Germany's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, signed the phase-out agreement in 2005 as part of the governing contract with their Social Democratic coalition partners in the SPD. Any change to the phase-out could only happen if a new 'pro' nuclear government comes to power after general elections in September 2009, says Breuer. 

The use of nuclear remains a controversial issue not only for German citizens and politicians, but also in the wider EU, with experts' views diverging widely on the benefits and risks of the technology (EurActiv 04/07/08).