āThe big profits have long been apportionedā
With the German parliamentās decision to transfer responsibility for the countryās nuclear waste storage to the state, arguably the most expensive project in the history of German energy policy, has been legally phased-out with a broad political consensus, Petra Pinzler writes in an opinion piece for weekly newspaper Die Zeit. āBut it has not been paid for yet. And thatās just the problem,ā she says. Profits made with nuclear energy have long been apportioned among the plant operators rather than being used to ensure financial provisions in a foresighted manner - and now the state will have to help out, Pinzler writes. Germanyās nuclear exit could have been a model for the world, but the costs associated with its belated organisation āwill deter a lot of governments from doing itā, she argues.
For information on the legal status of phasing out nuclear power, see the Āé¶¹ĪŽĀė°ę article Germany's constitutional court backs speedy nuclear exit.