German energy giant sues government Berlin (AFP) April 1, 2011 German energy giant RWE filed Friday a legal challenge to the government's order to shut down temporarily the country's seven oldest nuclear reactors in light of the Fukushima crisis in Japan. "German nuclear power stations fulfill current safety norms. There is no legal basis for shutting them down. This step is to protect the interests of our shareholders," RWE said in a statement. It stressed however that it supported the government's decision last month to conduct safety checks on all the country's 17 reactors in light of what Chancellor Angela Merkel a "turning point" for the world in Japan. She also suspended for the same period an earlier decision to postpone by around a decade until the mid-2030s the date when Europe's biggest economy goes nuclear-free. The original extension was highly unpopular, with critics accusing Merkel of being in cahoots with energy firms like RWE, EON, Vattenfall and EnBW, who stood to generate billions of euros (dollars) in extra profits as a result. But instead of being welcomed by voters, last month's announcement backfired badly, leaving Merkel accused of panicking ahead of a crucial state election last Sunday, which she duly lost. Recent weeks have seen huge anti-nuclear demonstrations, including an estimated quarter of a million -- organisers said -- taking to the streets last Saturday on the eve of the Baden-Wuerttemberg election. Shares in RWE have fallen around 7.5 percent in the last month, while those of EON, which has so far said it is not challenging the government, have slumped 8.5 percent.
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RWE to challenge German nuclear shutdown order Berlin (AFP) March 31, 2011 German energy group RWE said Thursday it would file a legal challenge to Berlin's decision to shut down one of its nuclear reactors for three months, a move its rival EON has renounced. "We want to file a lawsuit Friday before the Kassel Administrative Court against the order to shut down the Biblis A reactor for three months," a RWE spokeswoman told AFP, confirming a report due to appear in ... read more |
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