The Local Germany

Germany may wait 100 years for nuclear waste storage site

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 11:29:09 +0200

Germany may not have a final storage facility for its nuclear waste up and running until the next century, an expert report released on Tuesday suggested.

Ruhr nuclear plant ‘pumped radioactive waste into air’

Fri, 20 May 2016 18:16:56 +0200

A former engineer at one of Germany’s nuclear reactors has made an astonishing claim: that the plant intentionally pumped radioactive waste into the atmosphere in 1986.

Parliament backs nuclear energy phaseout

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:15:00 +0200

The German parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved plans to scrap nuclear power by 2022, making Germany the first major industrial nation to ditch atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

Utility EON to sue over fuel rod tax

Tue, 31 May 2011 20:03:00 +0200

Germany's largest energy company, EON, said Tuesday it would sue the government over plans to maintain a tax on spent fuel rods despite plans to do away with nuclear plants by 2022.

'This nuclear phaseout is not a revolution starting after Fukushima'

Mon, 30 May 2011 18:47:00 +0200

Out with the old, in with the renewable. With Germany's nuclear exit date now set at 2022, the country is about to embark on a decade of energy reform. Can it be done? The Local asked energy expert Marcel Viëtor.

Germany to quit nuclear power by 2022

Mon, 30 May 2011 08:26:00 +0200

Germany on Monday announced plans to become the first major industrialised power to shut down all its nuclear plants in the wake of the disaster in Japan, with a phaseout due to be wrapped up by 2022.

Fallout continues after Brüderle's nuclear gaffe

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:52:00 +0100

The government’s reversal on nuclear power caused further embarrassment Friday, with an industry leader contradicting Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle’s claim he was misquoted saying the backflip was an election tactic.

Radiation checks offered to travellers from Japan

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:24:00 +0100

Travellers returning from Japan can be checked for radioactive contamination by authorities, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) announced Thursday.

Germany kills Russian nuclear waste shipments

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:48:00 +0100

Germany on Monday called off hotly-disputed plans to ship radioactive nuclear waste to Russia as it doubted the cargo would be disposed of safely, a spokeswoman for the Environment Ministry said.

Nuclear waste reaches depot as blockade ends

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:01:00 +0100

A convoy of 123 tonnes of radioactive German nuclear waste finished its painstaking journey Tuesday morning and reached its destination at the Gorleben storage site after three days of blockades by determined anti-atomic energy demonstrators.

Cabinet gives nod to nuclear extension

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:51:00 +0200

Nuclear power will remain part of Germany’s energy supply until at least 2036 under a controversial extension of atomic reactors’ lifespans approved Tuesday by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet.

Merkel flags 15 years for nuclear extension

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:05:00 +0200

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday night that the lifespan of the nation's nuclear power plants should be extended by 10 to 15 years beyond the planned phase-out starting in 2021.

Nuclear power is only cheap for the industry

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:11:00 +0200

The atomic energy industry is pushing to delay Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power. But Marcus Gatzke from ZEIT ONLINE warns doing so could hurt the country’s switch to renewable energy – and consumers’ pocketbooks.

Nuclear firms prodded to fund green energy

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:24:00 +0200

Chancellor Angela Merkel appears set to take a softer approach with Germany's atomic industry, asking them to voluntarily invest in greener energies in exchange for longer lifespans on nuclear reactors.

Give ‘no nukes’ a chance, says Westerwelle

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:45:00 +0100

Germany would champion a “decade of disarmament” in an effort to bring about a “world without nuclear weapons,” Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Saturday.

Conservatives taking a battering on atomic energy, minister warns

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:11:00 +0100

Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen has intensified his calls for a quick nuclear energy phase out, warning conservative colleagues the issue was politically damaging, daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Saturday.

Police beat back anti-nuke protestors

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:03:00 +0100

Police wielding truncheons beat back environmentalists Sunday trying to block a train carrying highly radioactive nuclear waste from western France to a dump in Germany.

Officials reportedly admit nuclear security lacking

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:38:00 +0200

National and state officials from Baden-Württemberg have admitted deficits in Germany's atomic energy authority, according to a report in the Saturday edition of the Berliner Zeitung.