German Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen has said the country would shut all nuclear power plants by 2022.
Rottgen said the seven oldest reactors, which were already subject to a
moratorium, and the Kruemmel nuclear power plant, would not resume
operations. Six others would go offline by 2021 and the three newest by
2022, the BBC reports.Rottgen confirmed a tax on spent fuel rods, expected to raise 2.3 billion euros (3.28billion dollars) annually from this year, would remain despite the shutdown.
Reacting to the move, German Chancellor Angela Merkel 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."
She has also set up an ethics panel to look into nuclear power following the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.
The disaster in Japan had ensued mass protests against nuclear power in Germany. (ANI)
