Germany

German nuclear reactor row goes to higher court

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A court ruled on Wednesday that a dispute between the German government and a power group about whether to close a major nuclear reactor will be referred to the country's Federal Administrative Court.

The decision prolongs a dispute between the operator, Vattenfall Europe, which last year applied to keep the 806 megawatts plant open beyond 2010, and the Environment Ministry, which threw out the application.

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Germany Follows Own Non-Nuclear Energy Path

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

If Germany can prove that fighting climate change doesn't necessarily require nuclear power, other nations will follow. But if Germany fails, a nuclear renaissance may result, says DW's Jens Thurau.

German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel had his chance to shine in December at the Bali climate conference. No country, the energetic Social Democratic politician says, is similarly engaged in protecting the climate as Germany.

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Germany to remain anti-nuclear stronghold

Thursday, January 10, 2008

FRANKFURT, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Germany will uphold staunch political opposition to atomic energy, unperturbed by the mood swinging back in favour of nuclear power elsewhere.

Oil at record highs, climate worries, and the need to cut dependency on energy imports is due to move the British government to back new nuclear power plants on Thursday.

But Germany, Europe's biggest and most central power market, will not follow suit.

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Germany should introduce nuclear tax to fuel competition: Greens

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Germany should introduce a tax of 2 euro cent/kWh on fuel rods for nuclear power generation to re-establish the balance between different generation sources, according to a Green party proposal published by Suddeutsche Zeitung.

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Study Finds More Childhood Cancer Near Nuclear Power Plants

Sunday, December 9, 2007

DW-WORLD - Children living near nuclear power stations are more likely to suffer leukemia than those living farther away, a report funded by the German government has found, according to German media.

"Our study confirmed that in Germany a connection has been observed between the distance of a domicile to the nearest nuclear power plant ... and the risk of developing cancer, such as leukemia, before the fifth birthday," the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung quoted the report as saying.

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Legal challenge to German nuclear tax break fails

Thursday, December 6, 2007

(ENDS Europe DAILY 05/12/07) Three German municipal utilities have lost an appeal at the European court of justice against tax breaks for nuclear power operators in Germany. The three firms wanted the court to overturn a state aid ruling by the European commission from 2001.
The commission said a tax exemption for funds put aside for waste disposal and reactor decommissioning did not amount to a state subsidy. But the court ruled the firms' appeal inadmissible last Thursday because they had not shown they were directly affected by the case. It did not evaluate the commission decision itself.

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RWE and Vattenfall Europe's chances to delay nuclear exit have risen

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

AFX News Limited

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - RWE AG and Vattenfall Europe AG's chances of delaying the shut-down of nuclear reactors until after the next German parliamentary elections have risen after a fall in power volumes following the closure of two reactors, Handelsblatt reported.

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Siemens, Russia to develop atomic power generation

Friday, November 16, 2007

MOSCOW (Reuters) - German engineering conglomerate Siemens signed an agreement on Tuesday with Russia to help the country boost nuclear power generation.

Russia's atomic energy agency, known as Rosatom, said its chief, Sergei Kiriyenko, had signed the memorandum in Moscow with Rudi Lamprecht, a member of Siemens' managing board.

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Sweden's Vattenfall says to boost nuclear safety

Friday, November 16, 2007

Mon Nov 12, 2007 1:17pm GMT

STOCKHOLM, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Swedish utility group Vattenfall said on Monday it will create a new executive post to keep tabs on its nuclear power activities after criticism over operations at plants in Sweden and Germany.

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Sweden's Vattenfall loses 200,000 clients after nuclear plant incidents

Sunday, November 4, 2007

The Associated Press Wednesday, October 31, 2007
STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Swedish utility Vattenfall AB has lost almost 200,000 customers in Germany because of a "crisis in confidence" after failing to properly inform the public about a fire in a nuclear power plant and the shutdown of another, company officials said Wednesday.

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