German party in U-turn on atomic, green power
Date: 19-Sep-02
Country: GERMANY
"At the moment I think we have enough energy, which is why I wouldn't speak now with the electricity industry again about the atomic energy phase-out," Lothar Spaeth told Handelsblatt newspaper in an interview.
Germany's Christian Democrats indicated in their manifesto they would overturn legislation passed by the current Social Democrat/Greens government to phase out nuclear power over the next two decades.
On the back of that pledge, shares of big utilities, such as RWE and E.ON , had been tipped to gain should the conservatives win Sunday's general election.
In another apparent U-turn, Spaeth said he would also continue subsidies for renewable energies, like wind and solar.
"We're interested in having as much renewable energy as possible," Spaeth said.
