(October 15, 2002) The final shutdown of Germany's oldest reactor, Obrigheim, has been postponed by two years until 2005 when the coalition partners of the new German government reached an agreement on the controversial issue during the negotiations for a new government coalition. Delayed closure is in principle allowed in the nuclear phaseout agreement but has been criticized by delegates of the Green Party, one of the parties in Germany's new government after the elections of 22 September.
(575.5450) WISE Amsterdam - After months of so called "consensus talks" between electricity utilities and the German government (a Social Democrats/Green Party coalition) an agreement was reached on 14 June 2000 on the phaseout of nuclear energy in Germany (see WISE News Communique 532.5186: "Germany: government and utilities reach agreement on phaseout"). According to the phaseout agreement each reactor was allowed to produce a specified amount of electricity after which it has to be closed. Obrigheim is the oldest reactor (started operation in 1968) and therefore the first candidate to be closed, which was expected for early 2003 (as of last week a "credit" of 1,02 terawatt-hours (TWh) remained, enough for 80 days of operation).
As federal elections were held in September 2002, the electricity utilities could have hoped for a new (Christian-Democrats led) government, which might possibly soften the conditions of the phaseout agreement. This did not happen: although the Social Democrats lost seats, the Greens gained seats and so the Red-Green majority remained. Coalition talks were started to form a new Red-Green government.
Although Obrigheim's "credits" started to run out, the phaseout agreement includes possibilities to transfer remaining electricity amounts from one reactor to another. The transfer from older to newer reactors and smaller to bigger reactors is allowed as these transfers would bring closer the shutdown dates of these older and smaller NPPs. The transfer of electricity amounts from newer to older NPPs is only allowed after agreement by the federal government (chancellor and ministers of Environment and Economics) and the electricity utilities.
A government spokesman recently admitted that chancellor Schroeder had promised the night after the phaseout agreement was signed to allow delayed closure for Obrigheim. Without such a promise on the Obrigheim issue the industry would have refused to sign the agreement. But a spokesman of Green environment minister Trittin denied that he was aware of Schroeder's promise.
On 26 September, four days after the elections, Obrigheim owner EnBW formally applied for a delayed closure by transferring 15 TWh of electricity amounts from its Neckarwestheim II reactor to Obrigheim. That would be enough to operate Obrigheim at least until 2007, after the next federal elections.
The transfer of 15 TWh from Neckarwestheim II was not agreed in the coalition negotiations but on 14 October, the Ministry of Environment announced that Obrigheim could operate for another two years by transfering 5,5 TWh of electricity from the Philippsburg I NPP.
Although owner EnBW did not succeed in getting "credits" to operate Obrigheim until 2007 it ought to be satisfied with the present result of two more years. EnBW plans to sell shares in the company and any extra income is welcome. Besides, the future expense of dismantling the reactor can be postponed.
For the Green Party, the agreement on Obrigheim is a defeat as it has always strived for the shutdown of the "Schrottreaktor" (junk reactor). Greenpeace fears that now the government has agreed with the postponement of Obrigheim's closure it might be difficult to refuse other requests from the utilities. This could then lead to credits being shifted from one reactor to another, postponing the closure of several reactors.
Environment minister Trittin is especially criticized as Obrigheim is presently operating without a proper license. Parts of the reactor were constructed in a way that did not correspond with the original licensed drawings. Yet the reactor is allowed to operate while the government conducts a procedure to investigate whether the law has been violated.
The government coalition agreement was signed on 16 October. The Greens are holding a delegates conference in Bremen on 18 October to approve the coalition agreement. Opponents of the Obrigheim deal in the Green Party are introducing a resolution at this conference, demanding the closure of the reactor in 2003. "Obrigheim will prove what the phaseout agreement is worth - or not", says the resolution.
Sources:
- phaseout agreement, 14 June 2000
- Die Tageszeitung online, 9 and 11 October 2002
- Spiegel online, 7, 9 and 14 October 2002
- Press release Ministry of Environment, 14 October 2002
- website Ministry of Environment (www.bmu.de).
Contact: WISE Amsterdam