Nuclear U-turn “not rational”, says German official

Germany's economy minister told a closed meeting of business leaders that Berlin's sudden U-turn on nuclear power was based on electoral politics and was 'not rational', a newspaper reported.

Citing minutes taken at an event hosted by industry association BDI, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the comments by Rainer Bruederle surprised the 40 or so top managers at the meeting.

"The minister... illustrated that with the upcoming state election, pressure was weighing on politics and decisions would not always be rational," the paper quoted the minutes as saying.

Bruederle defended atomic power at the meeting, which was attended by two power company CEOs, Juergen Grossmann from RWE and Johannes Teyssen of E.ON, saying there was no way to avoid its use, especially for energy-intensive industries.

Merkel's party faces tough elections in states where anti-nuclear sentiment is strong.

Following the nuclear crisis in Japan, the moratorium Merkel declared on March 14 — the same day the BDI meeting took place — led to the closing of seven of the country's 17 nuclear plants for at least three months.

Related News

powerline worker

Canada in top 10 for hydropower jobs, but doesn't rank on other renewables

YORKTON - Canada has made the top 10 list of countries for the number of jobs in hydropower, but didn’t rank in three other key renewable energy technologies, according to new international figures.

Although Canada has only two per cent of the global workforce, it had one of the 10 largest slices of the world’s jobs in hydropower in 2019, says the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Canada didn’t make IRENA’s other top-10 employment lists, for solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, liquid biofuels or wind power, released Sept. 30. Figures from the agency show the whole sector represents 61,130 jobs across…

READ MORE
electricity revenue meter

Opinion: With deregulated electricity, no need to subsidize nuclear power

READ MORE

trump-canada-tariff-may-spike-ny-energy-prices

Trump's Canada Tariff May Spike NY Energy Prices

READ MORE

wind power

New York State to investigate sites for offshore wind projects

READ MORE

Electricity Market Headed for a Reshuffle as Province Vows Overhaul

Electricity Market Headed for a Reshuffle as Province Vows Overhaul

READ MORE