Germany to lead in green energy with nuclear shutdown: Merkel

English.news.cn 2011-05-31

German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives the report of the
so-called Ethics Commission for a Secure Energy Supply
from former German Environment Minister Klaus Toepfer (L) and
Matthias Kleiner, president of the German Research Foundation DFG
in Berlin May 30, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

BERLIN, May 30 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Germany could set an example in achieving a transition to efficient and renewable energies, after her government decided to close all 17 nuclear power plants in the country by 2022.

"We believe that we, as a country, can be a pioneer for a new age of renewable energy sources," Merkel said at a press conference hours after her coalition government drew up a nuclear phase-out timetable.

According to the ambitious plan, Germany's seven oldest reactors, which are taken off the grid following Japan's Fukushima disaster, will not be wakened up any time. The Kruemmel plant, which has been offline for years due to technical problems, will also be abandoned forever.

However, one of these old plants will be kept on "standby" from 2013, in case of possible electricity shortages. Another six plants will be closed by the end of 2021 and the three newest will remain operational until 2022.

The plan, which needs parliament approval, labeled Germany as the first major industrialized nation set to entirely abandon the atomic energy.

Germany could show to the world how a developed economy can achieve "such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that it has, for exports, development, new technologies and jobs," Merkel said.

"We will need a new architecture for our energy production," she added, acknowledging that Germany has to explore new sources for the vacancy left by the outgoing nuclear power, which currently accounts for 22 percent of the country's electricity production.

On Monday, the Federation of German Industry (BDI) expressed its worries, saying that the shutdown would force Germany to build more coal and gas power plants to stabilize the energy supply and price. As a result, it would lead to more greenhouse gas emissions.

"We don't only hope to give up nuclear energy by 2022, but also to reduce our CO2 emissions by 40 percent and double our share of renewable energies, from about 17 percent today to then 35 percent, " Merkel said.

Monday's decision was also seen as a return to the policy made by a previous Social Democrat-Green coalition government a decade ago. Last year, Merkel's coalition managed to extend the lifespan of nuclear power plants to around 2035, which was opposed by the majority of Germans and sparked rounds of protests afterwards.

Germany's anti-nuclear moods intensified after Japan's nuclear crisis starting in March. Merkel and her Christian Democrats had to change their pro-nuclear stance after suffering painful defeats in several local elections, including the one in Baden- Wuerttemberg, traditionally a stronghold for the conservatives.

Editor: yan

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Latvian to hold referendum on dissolving Parliament on July 23

English.news.cn 2011-05-31

RIGA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Latvian Central Election Commission decided on Monday that the referendum on President Valdis Zvatlers' motion to dissolve the Parliament will be held on July 23.

According to Latvian laws, a referendum must be held no sooner than one month and no later than two months after the Central Election Commission receives notification about the President's motion. President Zatlers announced last Saturday in his TV address to move to dissolve the Parliament for its contempt for the judiciary. After that, he sent the letter informing his motion to the Central Election Commission.

Article 48 of Latvian Constitution states that the State President shall be entitled to propose the dissolution of the Parliament. Following this proposal, a national referendum shall be held. If more than half of the votes are cast in favor of dissolution, the Parliament shall be considered dissolved, and new elections shall be held no later than two months after the dissolution of the Parliament.

The Latvian Parliament presidiums decided on Monday that it will hold the next presidential election on June 2 as scheduled.

Editor: yan

Germany pledges to end all nuclear power by 2022

BBC News, 30 May 2011

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Germany's ruling coalition says it has agreed a date of 2022 for the shutdown of all of its nuclear power plants.

Germany saw mass anti-nuclear protests
in the wake of the Fukushima disaster

Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen made the announcement after a meeting of the ruling coalition that lasted into the early hours of Monday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had set up an ethics panel to look into nuclear power following the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.

Germany saw mass anti-nuclear protests in the wake of the disaster.

'Sustainable energy'

Mr Rottgen said the seven oldest reactors, which were already subject to a moratorium, and the Kruemmel nuclear power plant, would not resume.

Six others would go offline by 2021 at the latest and the three newest by 2022, he said.

Mr Rottgen said: "It's definite. The latest end for the last three nuclear power plants is 2022. There will be no clause for revision."

Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats met their junior partners on Sunday after the ethics panel had delivered its conclusions.

Before the meeting she said: "I think we're on a good path but very, very many questions have to be considered.

"If you want to exit something, you also have to prove how the change will work and how we can enter into a durable and sustainable energy provision."

The Fukushima plant was crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, causing radioactive leaks that spurred anti-nuclear protests in Germany.

Mr Rottgen said a tax on spent fuel rods, expected to raise 2.3bn euros ($3.28bn) a year from this year, would remain despite the shutdown.

Germany's nuclear industry has argued that an early shutdown would be hugely damaging to the country's industrial base.

Before March's moratorium on the older power plants, Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its energy.

The anti-nuclear drive boosted Germany's Green party, which took control of the Christian Democrat stronghold of Baden-Wuerttemberg, in late March.

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Massive nationwide protests call for an immediate end to nuclear energy

Deutsche Welle, 28 May 2011

Germany is pushing for a rapid
end to nuclear energy

Demonstrators across Germany are calling for an immediate end to nuclear power after an official commission recommended a decade-long phase out. Some members of the government are concerned about the economic impact.

More than 100,000 demonstrators took to the streets in 20 cities across Germany on Saturday to call for a rapid end to nuclear power, even as a government-sponsored national commission is expected to recommend that Berlin abolish nuclear energy within a decade.

The Ethics Commission is set to announce the results of its final report on Germany's energy future, calling for nuclear power to be phased out by 2021.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had tasked the commission with forging a national consensus on how to replace nuclear power with renewable energy in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan last March.

The political opposition praised the commission's recommendation while expressing doubt about how Chancellor Merkel's center-right coalition would receive the report.

"I have doubts whether Merkel can successfully implement this position within her coalition," said Thomas Oppermann of the center-left Social Democrats' parliamentary group.

Nationwide protests

In Berlin, at least 20,000 protesters marched from city hall to the headquarters of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, where they called for an immediate end to nuclear power.

Merkel may have trouble getting
her coalition partners to accept
the timetable

Demonstration organizer Uwe Hiksch said an exit from nuclear power within a decade was not acceptable. The environmental organization Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) also called for a quicker shutdown of the country's nuclear plants.

More than 10,000 protesters took to the streets in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.

"This is our signal to Chancellor Merkel that the energy turnaround finally has to come," said Tim Petzoldt of the Initiative Anti-Atom Bonn.

Calls for caution

Meanwhile, Economic Minister and Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler expressed concern that completely abolishing nuclear energy too quickly could lead to electricity blackouts across Germany.

As a precautionary measure, Rösler - member of the liberal Free Democrats - called for some nuclear plants to be left functional as a "cold reserve" in the event Germany needs more energy.

"That would mean that one or two nuclear plants would be left in a cold stand-by mode for a certain period of time and would not be immediately dismantled," he said.

Rainer Brüderle, head of the Free Democrats parliamentary group, called for certain conditions to be met before nuclear energy was phased out. Brüderle said the power grid for renewable energy needed to be expanded.

"If we don't accelerate the expansion of the grid for renewable energy, then we will ultimately fail in the end," he said.

Currently, only four of Germany's 17 nuclear power plants are operational. Chancellor Merkel ordered eight to be shutdown pending review while five more were shutdown for routine maintenance.

On Sunday, Merkel's coalition government will meet to agree on a timetable for the shutdown of Germany's nuclear plants.

Author: Spencer Kimball (Reuters, epd, dapd, KNA, dpa)

Editor: Andreas Illmer

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Kremlin to Minsk: no Russian media – no aid

RT.com, 28 May, 2011, 12:36

Belarus, Minsk : Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko wipes
his brow as he speaks to journalists after voting in Minsk on December 19, 2010.
(AFP Photo / Viktor Drachev)

Russia's plan to help Belarus with three billion dollars might be scuttled, after the Belarusian president claimed foreign media inside his country could face severe restrictions.

A Kremlin official says that if it is put into practice, it will hamper the aid deal.

"If this intention becomes a reality, Russia will have to review its position on granting a loan to Belarus," a high-ranking Kremlin source told Interfax.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko accuses Russian and other foreign news outlets of exaggerating the country's dire economic situation.

"Most hysteria is in the Russian mass media,” he said on Friday. “I will not name them, so as not to create ratings for them, but be sure that these media outlets are no longer present on our territory, and not because we want to shut their mouths."

Minsk has already asked Russia and the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. Moscow previously said it was ready to provide a billion-dollar loan, but that it is likely to come with conditions.

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Violence, arrests at gay rights rally in Moscow

Deutsche Welle, 28 May 2011

Gay rights rallies are banned
in Moscow

Police have arrested dozens at an unsanctioned gay rights rally in Moscow after violence broke out between activists and members of a religious group. Three prominent gay right leaders are among the detainees.

A banned gay rights rally in Moscow was marred by dozens of arrests on Saturday after violence broke out between activists and an ultra-Orthodox religious group.

Three prominent figures in the global gay rights movement were among those arrested as activists attempted to stage the rally near the Kremlin wall.

An eyewitness told the news agency AFP that protesters waving rainbow flags and carrying placards which read "Russia is not Iran" were attacked by members of the religious group who were waiting to meet them.

People in both groups were subsequently wrestled to the ground by police officers before being arrested and led to police vans.

Among the detainees was leading American gay rights activist Dan Choi, as well as Peter Tatchell from the UK and Louis-George Tin from France.

Clashes often breaks out during
Moscow's annual gay rights rallies

Members of the ultra-Orthodox group reportedly wore black robes and carried the Christian Orthodox Cross. Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich, a member of the group, told AFP that they went to the Kremlin with the specific intention of stopping the march.

"God burned down Sodom and Gomorrah and he will burn down Moscow too if we let things like this happen," he said.

Six-year ban

Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow who once likened gays to the devil, has banned gay pride parades for the last six years. This year was no exception and the ban remained in effect under the new Mayor, Sergej Sobjanin.

In the build-up to the event, police vowed to arrest anyone who took part in Saturday's rally.

During a state visit to Moscow earlier this week, Berlin's governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit described the ban as "discriminatory."

Some 120 Russian activists were arrested during the first attempt to hold a gay pride parade in 2006. In October, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Russia to pay one local activist damages because of the march ban.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AFP, dpa)

Editor: Kyle James

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Belarus moves to ban 'hysterical' Russian media

Deutsche Welle, 27 May 2011

Lukashenko said Russian media
have spread panic

After a drastic currency devaluation in Belarus this week, authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has said he wants authorities to expel Russian media outlets that he said spread panic among Belarusians.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday said he was ready to expel some Russian media outlets for their unfavorable coverage of the country's economic crisis.

"Russian media were the most hysterical," Lukashenko told a government meeting on the former Soviet republic's currency crisis. "Do everything to make sure those media are no longer present on our territory."

Earlier this week, Minsk devalued the Belarusian ruble by more than a third against the dollar. Lukashenko blamed Russian media for sowing panic among Belarusians which he said led to panic buying.

Pressure to negotiate

The crisis has put more pressure on the authoritarian regime to make concessions to the West in exchange for financial aid. On a visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Lukashenko gave a small sign that he may be willing to negotiate with the West.

"They're still shouting 'Free the political prisoners!'" he said, referring to calls from Western governments to release the political prisoners. "But all of them have already been released, apart from two. Probably we will release them too. There's no point in spending government money on them in prison."

The Belarusian ruble lost more than
a third of its value this week

Several opposition presidential candidates were arrested after massive protests against the internationally condemned elections late last year. Many were given suspended sentences, but a Minsk court on Thursday sentenced two - Nikolai Statkevich and Dmitry Uss - to six and five-and-a-half years in prison respectively, for organizing mass riots.

A statement from the White House on Friday condemned the sentencing.

"In a major step backward for democracy in Belarus, their trials were clearly politically motivated and failed to meet even the most minimal standards required of a fair and independent judiciary," the statement said.

The European Union called the sentences "harsh" and said it was "unacceptable" to have political prisoners in Europe in the 21st century.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, Reuters)

Editor: Susan Houlton

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Ratko Mladic arrested: Bosnia war crimes suspect held

BBC News, 26 May 2011

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Ratko Mladic, wanted by UN prosecutors for war crimes during the Bosnian civil war, has been arrested in Serbia after a decade in hiding.

Ratko Mladic led Bosnian Serb forces
during the 1990s civil war

Serbian President Boris Tadic confirmed the arrest of the former Bosnian Serb army chief at a news conference.

Gen Mladic is accused of a key role in the massacre of at least 7,500 men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995.

He was the most prominent Bosnian war crimes suspect at large since the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in 2008.

President Tadic said work was under way to extradite Gen Mladic to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

The detention, he said, had closed one chapter in Serbian history, bringing the country and the region closer to reconciliation.

It had also opened the doors to membership of the European Union, he added.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen hailed the arrest, saying it finally offered "a chance for justice to be done".

Assumed name

Gen Mladic was said by Serbian media to have been arrested in Vojvodina, a northern province of Serbia, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

President Tadic would only confirm he had been arrested "on Serbian soil".

He was reportedly using the assumed name Milorad Komodic.

Gen Mladic was indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague in 1995 for genocide over the killings that July at Srebrenica - the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II - and other crimes.

Having lived freely in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, he disappeared after the arrest of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2001.

Speculation mounted that Gen Mladic would soon be arrested when Mr Karadzic was captured in Belgrade in July 2008.

Just before news of Thursday's arrest, UN war crimes chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz accused Serbia of failing to do enough to find Gen Mladic.

"The capture is the biggest obligation of Serbia," he said in a report sent to the UN Security Council.

"Until now efforts by Serbia to detain fugitives have not been sufficient."

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Spain 'prevents illegal helicopter sale to Iran'

BBC News, 26 May 2011

Spanish police say they have prevented the illegal sale of nine military transport helicopters to Iran and have detained eight people.

Nine helicopters similar to this one
have been seized by Spanish police

The operation, which took place in Madrid and Barcelona, led to the arrests of five Spanish businessmen and three Iranian nationals, reports say.

As well as the Bell-212 helicopters, police also found spare parts for export to Venezuela, police said.

Iran is banned from buying attack helicopters under UN sanctions.

The five Spanish businessmen are suspected of trying to export them, while the three Iranians are accused of negotiating the purchase of military material, the AFP news agency reports.

As part of Operation Nam, police raided industrial sites in Madrid and Barcelona, reports say.

The total value of the helicopters and spares was 100m euros ($140m), they said.

Under UN sanctions adopted last year, Iran is banned from buying heavy weapons such as attack helicopters and missiles.

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Swiss to phase out nuclear power

BBC News, 25 May 2011

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The Swiss government has decided to phase out nuclear power, amid growing public hostility to the industry.

Anti-nuclear activists demonstrated near the
Beznau plant at the weekend

The government announced it would not replace the country's five ageing plants after they reached the end of their lifetimes between 2019 and 2034.

However, the authorities also said they would not decommission any prematurely.

Swiss activists rallied against nuclear power at the weekend. April's disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan has sparked debate in several countries.

"Existing nuclear power plants will be closed at the end of their operative life and not replaced by new nuclear power plants," the government said in a statement on Thursday.

Switzerland currently gets about 40% of its energy from nuclear power.

The Beznau 1 pressurised water reactor is the oldest in the world still in operation. It came on stream more than 40 years ago, in 1969.

The other four Swiss reactors all date from 1984 or earlier.

Obama, Cameron predict success in Libya

Associated Press, By JULIE PACE, May 25, 2011

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and U.S. President Barack Obama during
a state banquet in Buckingham Palace, London, on Tuesday May 24, 2011.
President Barack Obama immersed himself in the grandeur of Britain's royal
family Tuesday, as Queen Elizabeth II welcomed him to Buckingham Palace
for the first day of a state visit. (AP Photo/Lewis Whyld, Pool)

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LONDON (AP) -- Predicting success in Libya, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that Moammar Gadhafi would ultimately be forced to step down if NATO keeps up its military campaign with the U.S. playing a key role.

"I believe that we have built enough momentum that as long as we sustain the course we're on, he will step down," the visiting president said at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"Ultimately this is going to be a slow, steady process in which we're able to wear down the regime forces," Obama said. He ruled out a deadline for ending the U.S. role in Libya, saying the mission would end in a timely fashion

Cameron rallied behind Obama's approach, saying what was needed in Libya was "patience and persistence."

The two leaders affirmed their joint resolve despite complaints among some NATO countries about the reduced U.S. role since NATO took the lead after the initial days of the two-month-old campaign against Gadhafi.

But the president also said, "David and I both agree that you can't put boots on the ground in Libya." He said "enormous sacrifices" made by the NATO allies have made a difference, but that ultimately "this is going to be a slow, steady process" that eventually will sap Gadhafi's resolve.

"We've been extraordinarily successful in avoiding civilian casualties," Obama added. "That means that sometimes we may have to be more patient than people would like."

Said Cameron: "I would agree that the two key things here are patience and persistence." He said "we're extremely strong together in wanting to see the same outcomes."

France among other NATO countries has pushed for a more aggressive military approach in Libya, but Obama gave no indication that increased firepower would be forthcoming from the U.S. even though officials in some allied nations would like to see that.

At the same time, the president said the U.S. is "strongly committed to seeing the job through, making sure that, at a minimum, Gadhafi doesn't have the capacity to send in a bunch of thugs to murder innocent civilians and to threaten them."

The international community has stepped up both the air campaign and diplomatic efforts against the regime in a bid to break a virtual stalemate between the rebels in the east and Gadhafi, who maintains a stranglehold on most of the west.

The military campaign in Libya began with what seemed a narrowly defined mission: to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians from attack. Two months later, the campaign has evolved into a ferocious pounding of the country's capital, Tripoli, in what appears an all-out effort to oust Gadhafi. But that goal remains elusive.

The Libyan opposition remains weak. NATO, the North Atlantic military alliance which took over command of the campaign from the U.S. on March 31, appears to have no clear exit strategy. Two of the allies, Britain and France, have descended into public squabbling over bringing the fight closer to Gadhafi with attack helicopters. And the French foreign minister said Tuesday his country's willingness to continue the campaign was not endless.

On another matter, Obama said the U.S. is increasing pressure on Syria's President Bashar Assad and his regime, which has been attacking protesters there.

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German mountains promise to store wind power

Deutsche Welle, 25 May 2011

The Harz mountains could be the
site for up to six plants

Old mines in the German Harz Mountains may soon be getting a new lease of life, serving as a storage facility for excess wind power. The scheme is yet to find investors, but if it goes ahead, it will be a world first.

Once a hub of mining activity, today northern Germany's Harz mountains are a sleepy backwater, more likely to attract hikers and winter sports enthusiasts than industrial magnates.

But that may be about to change.

Engineers, together with the state government of Lower Saxony, are looking into the potential to turn former mines into a form of 'green battery.'

The idea would be a world-first engineering feat and could provide part of the answer to Germany's quest to boost renewable energies and make them more reliable.

Marko Schmidt, an engineer for Lower Saxony's Energy Research Center, has come up with a plan that would house a hydroelectric pumped storage station in abandoned mine shafts deep under the Harz.

Let gravity do the work

Wind energy is an increasingly
popular alternative

The principle is simple.

At times of excess supply, wind energy can be used to pump water into elevated storage tanks or reservoirs within the moutains.

When the wind is low and not meeting demand, the stored water can flow down to tanks at a lower elevation, powering turbines along the way, much like a dam.

"Wind energy does not always blow at the same strength so the output of a wind farm usually goes up and down," Marko Schmidt told Deutsche Welle.

"Demand for electricity also varies, so it is good to have backup systems," he added.

Subterranean advantage

Above ground, these kinds of pumped storage stations are already in use in several locations across Germany and around the world.

Schmidt's innovation – which would be a world first – Is to site the facility below ground, adapting the existing infrastructure of dormant mines.

The engineer cited six potential locations for these plants in the Harz mountain region, with one specific pilot site identified in the abandoned Wiemannsbucht mine shaft in Bad Grund, a town in the western Harz mountains.

The fact that the plant would be concealed from the view of local residents is its biggest advantage, says the engineer.

"We presented our idea to the region and were very pleasantly surprised to find that people responded to it very positively. They identified with the project," he said.

"The tradition of mining is so great in the Harz region, that they want to see the mines back in use again, so there are practically no critics of the project," he added.

Nationwide, there is potential for
60-100 similar plants

Few critics

So far, the project hasn't met with any official planning objections, either. It has also been well received by renewable energy experts who admire the fact that it has been tailored to suit local conditions.

"I think this is really a brilliant idea and a very nice example of how easy it can be, under some local conditions, to achieve a 100 percent renewable energy supply," said Stefan Gsänger, the Secretary General for the World Wind Energy Association.

"Renewable energies are everywhere and you just need to find an appropriate way to harness them where you are," Gsänger added.

Schmidt has estimated in his study that the pilot plant in Bad Grund could be built within the next three to five years for between 170 and 200 million euros.

The storage capacity for such a plant would be up to 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power around 40,000 households for a day.

If the project goes ahead, it is estimated that up to 200 people would be employed for its construction, and up to 7 others would be needed to run the plant, providing the region with jobs as well as clean energy.

Awaiting investors

Although no investors have come forward yet, the engineer says several parties are interested in the scheme.

He is confident that the model will be deployed not just in the Harz, but in other areas of Germany too, where surface installations of pumped storage facilities have met local resistance due to concerns about environmental impact.

"It is absolutely possible that this project will be realized in the near future, it's very realistic," Schmidt said.

"In the whole of Germany there are a further 60-100 sites which are also possible."

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill

Editor: Nathan Witkop