POWER June 2011 - 10

are now temporarily shut down, as has been called for, and closing
remaining plants by 2022 could increase wholesale power
prices to €70/MWh within seven years.
The study, whose results were released on April 24, also suggests
that Germany's about-turn on nuclear power could spawn
additional costs of €33 billion by 2020-the bulk of which will
be paid by industrial and commercial energy users-as utilities
turn to more expensive forms of generation (the study assumes
that almost half of Germany's nuclear output would be replaced
by imports and coal and gas generation) and demand for carbon
permits increases. If costs for subsidies and the German grid are
included, that figure could skyrocket to €51 billion, the study
conducted by r2b, an energy consulting firm, said.
The government refuted allegations that costs would rise so
steeply. Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle admitted to German
radio, however, that the new phase-out plan-which includes
expanding grids and energy storage-could cost consumers and
taxpayers between €1 billion and €2 billion per year.
German Energy Firms Strike Back. Protesting the government's
U-turn on nuclear policy, plant operators in Germany have
halted annual payments of up to €3.3 billion into a fund set up
last year as part of a deal to extend reactor lifespans. Among the
companies involved are energy giants E.ON, RWE, and Vattenfall.
RWE CEO Jürgen Grossmann has lashed out at the government,
saying the phase-out could scar the economy. " This will not
bring about the end of German industry overnight, " Grossman
told shareholders in mid-April. " But it could lead to a long-term
depletion process with a considerable negative impact on jobs
and prosperity. " The company, Germany's largest nuclear power
producer, has also begun legal proceedings against the government
to fight the temporary shutdown of its Biblis nuclear plant
in Hesse on allegations that the closure was illegal.
E.ON said in a statement that it would not challenge closures
of its reactors Isar 1 (Figure 4) and Unterweser, even though it
had doubts about the move's legality. But E.ON CEO Johannes
4. Shutting the door on nuclear power. Utilities producing
nuclear power in Germany have said the government's plans
to phase out all nuclear power in the country by 2022 and replace
that capacity with renewables, coal, and gas could sharply increase
power prices and cause a supply squeeze. The government temporarily
shut down seven nuclear plants built before 1980 and one
newer facility at Krümmel in the wake of the Japanese nuclear crisis.
Among those was E.ON's 1977-built Isar Unit 1 near the city of
Landshut (shown here). The 1988-built Isar 2 continues to be used
for baseload supply. Courtesy: E.ON
Teyssen, too, has expressed concern about the proposed nuclear
exit, saying it would affect Germany's climate goals and increase
power prices-which could ultimately force energy-intensive industries
out of business.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that as a result
of the Daiichi crisis, German engineering firm Siemens may be
reconsidering a plan to form a partnership with Russian stateowned
nuclear company Rosatom. The plan has been considered
a major part of Siemens' strategy to expand its presence in the
nuclear sector.
Italy Pulls Back on Nuclear as Well. While a number of other
European countries conducted safety checks on their nuclear
facilities-but continued to back energy plans that factored in
future nuclear power-in April, Italy also indefinitely shelved
plans to allow construction of new plants. In 1987, the Italian
public had overwhelmingly voted to reject nuclear energy after
the Chernobyl disaster, and its government in April scrapped
plans for a new referendum to win public support for reactors
that were to be built by Italian utility Enel and France's EDF starting
in 2013. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he hoped the
country would revive the plans within a year or two after more
clarity was gained on the technology.
India Defers Approval of Four Reactors. The Fukushima nuclear
crisis has also reignited concerns about the safety of India's
nuclear program. Widespread-and violent-protests against
government plans to build six AREVA EPRs over 15 to 17 years in
the coastal Maharashtra region have made the new builds a bitterly
contested political issue. In late April, India's environment
ministry made the unprecedented decision to defer approval for
Units 3, 4, 5, and 6, reactors being built in Tamil Nadu state by
the central government-run Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd.
(NPCIL) and Russian state-owned company AtomStroyExport. Two
VVER-1000 units are already under construction in that state,
and Kudankulam Unit 1 is expected to begin operations by June.
The ministry cited environmental hazards-including problems
concerning a proposal to dispose cooling water into the sea-
and the need for new risk assessments, because no new NPCIL
environmental impact reports had been filed since 2004. Sources
say that to shore up confidence in the country's nuclear-heavy
future energy plans, the government will continue to tighten
safety regulations and go so far as to revamp its nuclear watchdog
agency.
Countries Abandon Subsidies for
Renewables en Masse
Stricken by the economic crisis and forced to implement austerity
measures, several countries around the world have been forced to
abandon or slash subsidies for renewable power producers.
UK. In March, the United Kingdom's energy and climate change
secretary, Chris Huhne, said his country may cut subsidies for large
and midsize solar projects by as much as 72%. He had announced
a comprehensive review of feed-in tariffs in February. The Department
of Energy and Climate Change said the cuts slated to take
place in 2012 would ensure that subsidies were available for smaller
installations-like rooftop solar-which feed-in tariffs were
originally designed for. In a statement, the UK Renewable Energy
Association said the tariff cut would be an " absolute disaster, "
claiming no new projects would start if the proposal became law.
" This industry has been strangled at birth, " it added. Several companies
have asked a UK court to review Huhne's decision.
The Netherlands. Holland's new right-wing government in
February announced plans to drastically reduce solar and wind
10
www.powermag.com
POWER | June 2011
http://www.powermag.com
POWER June 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER June 2011
