Nuclear Energy

lower house (Bundestag) to pass a bill to extend the working lives of its reactors by an average of
12 years.
However, Merkel does not have a majority in the upper house (Bundesrat) where Germany’s
states are represented, so she has not submitted the legislation for approval there as it is sure to get
defeated. The opposition parties and the state governments are claiming that this is unconstitutional
and are planning to move the Federal Constitutional Court over this. The Social Democrats have
declared that they will overturn the legislation if they come to power. cccxlii Considering the intense
hostility to nuclear power in Germany – recent polls indicate that a majority of Germans are in
favour of phasing out nuclear power as soon as possible cccxliii – it is doubtful if there would be any
significant revival of nuclear power there.
The Spanish government is going slow on its election pledge to phase out nuclear energy; in
2009, it extended the operating license of Spain’s oldest plant by two years, allowing it to operate
until 2013. However, at the same time, the government has also put energy conservation on its top
priority. The emphasis on renewable energy has made Spain the world‘s second largest operator of
solar power capacity and the third largest of wind power. cccxliv With such a huge push towards
renewable energy, there is very little scope for revival of nuclear power in Spain; at the most, the
existing nuclear plants will be given a lifetime extension for a few years.
(iii) Countries without Nuclear Phase-Out Policy
These are Switzerland, Finland, France and the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom operates 19 reactors, all of which except one are scheduled to be shut
down by 2025. The UK nuclear industry is trying hard to get the government to agree to
construction of new plants. Nuclear utilities and fuel industries have faced huge troubles in the UK,
moving between scandal and bankruptcy. Nevertheless, first Tony Blair’s government and then
Gordon Brown’s government have attempted to keep the nuclear option open, and in 2009, the
British government took the first steps towards starting building of new reactors. cccxlv But these
plans have apparently got a setback with the coming to power of the Conservative-Liberal
government in May 2010. While the Conservatives are all for nuclear energy, the Liberal
Democrats have long campaigned against it. The new energy minister, who is from the Liberal
Party, has said that the Liberals have compromised and agreed not to oppose Conservative
proposals to build new reactors, but it is on the condition that no subsidies are given to nuclear
energy. If the government sticks to its promise, it is virtually certain that no new nuclear power
plant will be built in the UK. cccxlvi
Switzerland operates five reactors. Switzerland’s nuclear operators have initiated a debate
over building replacements for the country’s aging nuclear reactors, but the short-term prospects
look dim. Referenda over phasing out nuclear energy have never won a majority in the country, but
because they were defeated only by a very thin margin, they have effectively acted as a moratorium
on the building of new nuclear plants. cccxlvii
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