German "Ethics Commission" calls for end to nuclear
In the wake of the nuclear disaster in the Fukushima, Japan, the German government put together an "Ethics Commission" specifically to help decide what the country's nuclear policy should be. Today, it was announced that the Commission will recommend phasing out nuclear by 2021.
If the German Ethics Commission has its way, this plant in Neckarwestheim -- which has two reactors and produces roughly a quarter of the power consumed in the State of Baden-Württemberg will be shut down along with all of the country's other nuclear plants within the next 10 years.
Just a day after Japan announced an about-face on its nuclear policy, it seems that Germany is also poised to phase out nuclear even faster. Just over a decade ago, the coalition government between the SPD and the Greens resolved to phase out nuclear roughly by 2022, but the Ethics Commission has now recommended that nuclear be phased out by 2021.
The Commission headed by former German Environmental Minister and UNEP head Klaus Töpfer of the Christian Democrats and Matthias Kleiner, President of the German Research Foundation, was created especially for the purpose of reviewing German nuclear policy with an eye to making a proposal after the 30-day moratorium that began after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in the mid-March. The 17-member Commission was assembled to represent the widest possible range of German society – not only scientists, but also (as the word "ethics" suggests) religious leaders and industry representatives.
In the moratorium, Germany's seven nuclear plants built before 1980 that were still online were shut down, and an eighth plant (Krümmel) that was off-line at the time was kept off the grid for 90 days. In a 28-page paper entitled "Germany's energy consequences – a joint project on Germany's energy future," which has yet to be made public but was leaked to German media in a draft version, the Committee now says that the moratorium "shows that it is no problem to compensate for the approximately 8.5 gigawatts from these seven old plants and Krümmel."
The final version is to be presented to the government on May 30 and will also include the findings from the Reactor Safety Commission, which is currently reviewing the safety of Germany's 17 remaining plants. Then, the German government would adopt a deadline for the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany, and that decision, which would be announced at the end of the first week of June, is expected to pass through German Parliament at the end of the first week of July.
The Commission believes that the "phase-out corridor" would not have to be longer than 10 years, which would mean that the last plant would be shut down in 2021, but the draft reportedly also says that the corridor could be much shorter, though no earlier date is specified. The deadlines for specific power plants would be based on two aspects: their level of safety and the role they play on the power grid. Unlike the phase-out of 2000 under the SPD/Greens coalition, the number of operating hours would play no role.
The Ethics Commission also stipulates, however, that the phase-out of nuclear power must not lead to a strong increase in carbon emissions; in other words, renewables, not coal, would have to replace nuclear. Furthermore, the price of electricity, the reliability of the grid, and the effect on power imports (Germany is currently a net power exporter) would have to be taken into consideration. The Commission therefore recommends a number of steps to ensure that the country replaces nuclear with renewables, including energy conservation and building renovation. (cm)
