Germany to shut its nuclear plants

The country’s seven oldest reactors already taken off the grid pending safety inspections following the catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March will remain off-line permanently, Norbert Roettgen added. The country has 17 reactors in total.

Mr Roettgen praised the coalition agreement after negotiations through the night between the governing parties. “This is coherent. It is clear,” he told reporters in Berlin. “That’s why it is a good result.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed through measures in 2010 to extend the lifespan of the country’s 17 reactors, with the last one scheduled to go off-line in 2036, but she reversed her policy in the wake of the Japanese disaster.

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, stands alone among the world’s major industrialised nations still using nuclear power in its determination to gradually replace it with renewable energy sources. Italy decided to stop producing nuclear power after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Throughout March – before the seven reactors were taken off-line – just under a quarter of Germany’s electricity was produced by nuclear power.

Energy from wind, solar and hydroelectric power currently produces about 17 per cent of the country’s electricity, but the government aims to boost its share to around 50 per cent in the coming decades.

Many Germans have been vehemently opposed to nuclear power since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine sent radioactive fallout over the country. Tens of thousands took to the streets in the wake of Fukushima to urge the government to shut all reactors.

Dr Merkel’s government ordered the country’s seven oldest reactors, built before 1980, shut down four days after the Fukushima incident.

The plants, which will now remain off-line, accounted for about 40 per cent of the country’s nuclear power capacity.

The German decision came as a new poll revealed more than 80 per cent of Japanese voters do not trust government information about the country’s nuclear crisis.

The poll conducted by Fuji Television Network also found that nearly 85 per cent of respondents said the utility that operates the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is dealing with the crisis poorly. An earthquake and tsunami on March 11 damaged crucial cooling systems at the plant. The twin disasters also left more than 24,000 people dead or missing in north-eastern Japan.

Meanwhile the Scottish National Party is claiming Scotland is well-placed to lead the world in renewable energy following the Germany decision to close nuclear power plants.

SNP Westminster energy spokesman Mike Weir welcomed the decision by the German government to take its nuclear power plants offline by 2022.

Mr Weir said: “The world is waking up to the massive safety risks presented by nuclear energy as Germany becomes the latest European country to announce its intention to go nuclear-free.

“The SNP Scottish Government has already ruled out any new nuclear power stations in Scotland and it is time the UK Government followed Scotland and Germany’s lead.

“Scotland is well-placed to lead this global renewable energy revolution with our huge natural advantage.

“Scotland has the capacity to generate a quarter of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal power and a tenth of the Continent’s wave energy. Realising that potential will be a priority for the SNP Scottish Government.”