On Tuesday September 28, 2010 Germany disclosed its new energy policy and plans. According to The Wall Street Journal the plans involve brining down Germany’s consumption of greenhouse gasses by 80% by the year 2050. On a more controversial note the government has decided that nuclear energy is going to be their energy “bridge” to a more environmentally friendly energy source that will hopefully be created by 2050. In Germany this is especially controversial because the previous plan was to have all nuclear power plants closed by the year 2020 and now the last power plant according to this new policy will close at some point in the 2030’s.
Germany making the policy decision to become more reliant on nuclear energy will have repercussions globally as countries throughout the world try to cut down on greenhouse gasses and fuel emissions. It will be interesting to see if in the next few years other countries take on policies similar to Germany and attempt to cut down on their oil consumption. In addition it leads to the possibility of future legislation forcing car companies to make their cars more energy efficient if they want to sell in Germany, or if adopted in other countries, globally. It will also be intriguing to see how the oil and gas market, in Germany, responds to these policies.
Sources: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575519493309998222.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines
Pictures: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/alumni/rochester/images/green_energy.gif&imgrefurl=http://forum.johnson.cornell.edu/alumni/rochester/news.html&usg=__vtqoSnWhry5sQybfwuH78oeMwLk=&h=302&w=262&sz=20&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=EJwSkTGpDU0_6M:&tbnh=96&tbnw=84&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgreen%2Benergy%2Bsymbol%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1291%26bih%3D475%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C5&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=104&vpy=123&dur=1965&hovh=241&hovw=209&tx=95&ty=257&ei=QgGkTKevAYX6lwekmf2nCw&oei=QgGkTKevAYX6lwekmf2nCw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&biw=1291&bih=475
and http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://skepticalteacher.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/nuclear-power-plant.jpg&imgrefurl=http://skepticalteacher.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/conservapedia-disconnected-from-reality-einsteins-theories-are-a-left-wing-conspiracy/&usg=__L5jEa7bXeXvm9NY0JQSIwrQx_7o=&h=396&w=500&sz=39&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=t3RsnRjXDZjPpM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=246&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNuclear%2Bpower%2Bplant%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1291%26bih%3D475%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=163&vpy=164&dur=31&hovh=200&hovw=252&tx=207&ty=164&ei=-wKkTObHCcT6lwfPpajRCw&oei=-wKkTObHCcT6lwfPpajRCw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0
So obviously we wrote about the same by complete accident, but that doesn't change the fact that it's going to be really interesting to see how this plays out. Until 2034 when the nuclear industry leaves Germany, there should be an exciting boom of expansion in the renewable energy sector and a major job and investment surplus. Hopefully things will continue to run smoothly post 2034 when the renewable energy sector will be more heavily relied upon.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting deviation on the part of Germany from the typical stance on nuclear power among other European nations. Most Europe nations are staunchly opposed to nuclear power, despite its continually diminishing safety threats in recent years, and its potential as a reliable source of alternative energy that is more cost effective than most any other alternatives. Many European nations might still have Chernobyl or Three Mile Island in mind, but those days are long gone. And, while nuclear is more expensive than a coal power plant is initially, over time nuclear power of becomes more cost effective because it does not have the same negative externality costs of coal plants. The negative externalities of coal fired power plants are poor air quality and greenhouse gas production, which ultimately are more costly to the public who pay for such utilities. The major draw back of nuclear power is what to do with the waste, but, according to the EPA "Radioactive waste disposal practices have changed substantially over the last twenty years" and, "environmental protection considerations have provided the impetus to improve disposal technologies." In short, it is difficult to see why more European nations are jumping on the same band wagon as Germany.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/docs/radwaste/index.html
It is very interesting how countries are concerned about the greenhouse gasses. This new idea will benefit the environment and new companies. It will reduce the demand of oil because oil is one of the main polluters and contributor to the greenhouse gasses. Thus, there will also be a decrease in demand of oil gas consuming cars in Germany. Germany will then start to induce more companies into the green economy; producing hybrid cars. This would happen because If not, Germany would not be able to import cars from other companies; there would be no source for those car to get gas. Germany is helping the green movement by trying to help reduce the greenhouse gasses and will also make car companies be part of the green movement as well.
ReplyDelete