Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Vattenfall Seeks $6 Billion in Compensation for German Nuclear Phase-Out
Vattenfall is not the only company seeking compensation. Two German utility companies, E.on and RWE are suing the government in German courts for $482 million and $294 million respectively.
A positive outcome to the claims looks somewhat promising because the legality of the "Atomaustieg" was flawed to begin with, argues Rupert Scholz. He is a lawyer and former defense minister, who wrote in an article in Cicero Online that the German constitution guarantees the peaceful use of nuclear energy. "The operators of nuclear power stations enjoy the right of property and also enjoy the right of the principle of free commercial activity," he writes. Because the Atomausstieg violated a basic principle of a constitutional democracy, it is not sustainable without compensating the concerned companies, he argues.
"The Atomausstieg means stopping operations, and this means that the nuclear power plants as property have been destroyed, and this can only happen with compensation, according to German law," says Scholz.
...snip...
In an email message, Vattenfall spokesperson Sandra Kühberger gave the following statement: "We have emphasized that we respect the will of the majority of policymakers and the society to phase out nuclear energy in Germany. However, we do believe that a fair compensation is necessary."
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/nuclear/swedish-energy-giant-vattenfall-nets-billions-for-nuclear-phaseout
A positive outcome to the claims looks somewhat promising because the legality of the "Atomaustieg" was flawed to begin with, argues Rupert Scholz. He is a lawyer and former defense minister, who wrote in an article in Cicero Online that the German constitution guarantees the peaceful use of nuclear energy. "The operators of nuclear power stations enjoy the right of property and also enjoy the right of the principle of free commercial activity," he writes. Because the Atomausstieg violated a basic principle of a constitutional democracy, it is not sustainable without compensating the concerned companies, he argues.
"The Atomausstieg means stopping operations, and this means that the nuclear power plants as property have been destroyed, and this can only happen with compensation, according to German law," says Scholz.
...snip...
In an email message, Vattenfall spokesperson Sandra Kühberger gave the following statement: "We have emphasized that we respect the will of the majority of policymakers and the society to phase out nuclear energy in Germany. However, we do believe that a fair compensation is necessary."
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/nuclear/swedish-energy-giant-vattenfall-nets-billions-for-nuclear-phaseout