The agreement reached earlier this month between the German government and major electric-power companies to phase out that country's commercial nuclear program in about 30 years came as a fresh reminder of the global shift away from nuclear energy production. The "irreversible" landmark agreement is of monumental significance, not only to Germany, the first industrialized nation to "denuclearize" its energy policy, but also to other industrial powers that continue to operate nuclear power plants.
The agreement gives those power companies significant discretion. They are allowed to produce up to about 2.6 trillion kilowatt-hours of nuclear power in the next 32 years. During this period, they will phase out all 19 nuclear reactors now operating. Inefficient reactors will be closed early on, but efficient ones will be able to run for many more years.
The accord resulted from a 1998 campaign pledge made by the left-of-center Social Democratic Party. The coalition government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, in which the Greens party is a junior partner, has already taken steps to realize that pledge, including legislation that de-emphasizes nuclear power production.