Germany to go non-nuclear by 2022

The German government on Monday announced its plans to phase out nuclear power by 2022, in a reversal of its previous policy, a move that was met with mixed opinion within the country but hailed by a section of environment activists.

The decision, that comes following mass anti-nuclear protests after Japan’s unprecedented n-crisis triggered by an earthquake and tsunami two months ago, could jeopardise the energy supply of Europe’s biggest economy and manufacturer.

The move also follows internal pressure, after German Chancellor Angela’s Merkel’s opponents scored the biggest political victories against her by mobilising popular hostility to atomic power, thus forcing her to turn her back on last year?s decision to actually extend the life of nuclear power plants.

Merkel said that even though Germany gets 23 percent of its power from its 17 nuclear reactors, the country would be able to withstand the shutdown by switiching to wind and solar energy.

?Our energy system has to be fundamentally changed and can be fundamentally changed. We want the electricity of the future to be safer and, at the same time, reliable and economical,? she said.

Anlysts, however, have pointed out that the move could increase energy costs and lead to electricity shortage that in turn could hurt the country?s economy at a time when neighbouring nations creak under post-recession pressure.

However, responding to the German government?s plans for the immediate closure of eight nuclear power plants, Greenpeace hailed the move as a very important step towards ending nuclear power globally.

But the international environmental organisation warned that delaying the closure of the remaining nine plants was both dangerous and unnecessary.

?Every year spent relying on nuclear power is another year spent courting the next Fukushima crisis. Germany could phase out nuclear power as soon as 2015 without depending on imported power or locking itself into fossil fuel technologies,? said Jan Beranek, head of Greenpeace International?s nuclear campaign.

?By waving goodbye to nuclear power, Germany has shown that with real vision and determination any country can get rid of risky, dirty and outdated energy sources, and replace them with already available 21st-century renewable and energy efficient technologies.

?With Japan and Switzerland also moving away from nuclear, other countries need to wake up and embrace clean energy, or risk being left behind.?

Greenpeace says that according to its own research, it is possible for Germany, the world?s fourth largest economy, to shut all 17 of its nuclear reactors by 2015, without reliance on nuclear power imports or locking into fossil fuel technologies, by rapidly replacing the reactors with a combination of renewable energy and efficiency measures.

A recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) found that just 2.5 percent of viable renewable energy sources could provide up to 80 percent of world energy demand by 2050 with currently available technologies.