Isra-Mart srl:Merkel signals Germany could ditch nuclear for renewables

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Germany could make a swifter than anticipated move away from nuclear power by focusing its energy policy on ramping up renewable energy, chancellor Angela Merkel said today.

Responding to the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan, the German government announced on Tuesday it would shut down all plants that began operating before 1980 for three months in order to carry out safety checks. It also suspended a decision taken in the autumn to prolong the working life of all 17 of the country's nuclear facilities beyond 2021.

Merkel today defended the decision, telling the German parliament that nuclear should be regarded as a bridging technology that will only be used while the country builds up sufficient renewable energy capacity.

"We will use the moratorium period, which we deliberately set to be short and ambitious, to drive the change in energy policy and accelerate it wherever possible, as we want to reach the age of renewable energy as quickly as possible," she said.

Merkel insisted that the Japanese disaster forced her hand and shutting the plants was in line with German legislation.

"The nuclear law provides precisely for this: shutting down a plant temporarily until the authorities have achieved clarity about a new situation," she said.

However, Merkel failed to say whether the government would restart any of the closed plants after the three-month moratorium period.

Rumours abound that German utilities are considering launching legal proceedings following the shutdown, although none have yet confirmed or denied the speculation.

Johannes Teyssen, chief executive officer at E.ON, told reporters yesterday that the move to close nuclear plants was highly political.

"You won't hear from me that 'all is fine', but you also won't hear from me that 'we have to change everything now'," Teyssen said. "Germany is alone in its reaction. Nobody else has said it plans any provisional measures."

Merkel has also faced accusations of double standards, having pushed through the moratorium so soon after agreeing to keep nuclear plants running for longer.

"No more lies, chancellor," cried Sigmar Gabriel, floor leader of the opposition Social Democrats, in parliament today. "Last year you claimed that we wanted to exit nuclear energy too fast, now you stand here and have the chutzpah to say that we were too slow to exit."