US embassy cable - 02FRANKFURT11824

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 011824 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/ERA, AND EB 
USDOC FOR 4212/ITA/MAC/EUR/AGS 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
DOE/NN30 MARK ROTH 
TREAS FOR OASIA: ROBERT HARLOW, CAROL CARNES 
DEPT FOR NP/SC WARREN STERN 
NRC FOR BETTY WRIGHT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG, ECON, SENV, PGOV, GM, EUN 
SUBJECT:  GERMANY'S OLDEST POWER PLANT, OBRIGHEIM TO SHUT 
DOWN IN 2005: EXTENSION HARMED GREEN PARTY CREDIBILITY AND 
NUCLEAR PHASEOUT PLANS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
REF:  FRANKFURT 09759 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:   Federal Environment Minister Juergen 
Trittin and Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (ENBW, Germany's 
third largest energy supplier), have come to an agreement 
for the shutdown of Germany's oldest nuclear reactor 
Obrigheim on November 15, 2005.  The 2003 shutdown of 
Obrigheim was part of the Green Party "nuclear phaseout" 
plan.  But in late September, the Greens were forced by 
Chancellor Schroeder (SPD) to accept a two-year, rather open- 
ended operating extension for Obrigheim, which harmed their 
credibility and cost them local political support in Baden- 
Wuerttemberg.  The B-W Greens are relieved at the new 
development and a firm date for final shutdown.  End 
Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) Originally, Obrigheim nuclear power plant, 
Germany's oldest, was scheduled for shutdown in early 2003 
as part of the SPD-Green coalitions "nuclear phaseout" plan. 
(The plant is located near Heidelberg.)  However, Chancellor 
Schroeder's promised Gerhard Goll, CEO of ENBW, a two-year, 
rather open-ended extension in late September, just a few 
days after winning national elections.  (Energy Baden- 
Wuerttemberg, ENBW, is Germany's third largest energy 
supplier.)  The operating extension for Obrigheim led to 
considerable strain in the SPD-Green Party national 
coalition in Berlin and created turmoil with the southwest 
Greens.  The B-W Greens had been fighting to shut down 
Obrigheim since the early 1980s.  ENBW had originally asked 
for a five-year extension until 2008.  The two-year 
compromise that was finally reached involved transferring 
5.5 terawatt hours from the Philippsburg I plant (near 
Karlsruhe) to Obrigheim.  The B-W Greens, however, never 
really accepted this compromise made at the national level. 
In several conversations with B-W Greens, we were told that 
there is considerable concern within the party that ENBW 
would try to push the extension, via various loopholes, 
beyond 2005.  (Note: At the latest B-W Greens convention in 
Esslingen, Greens caucus chief Winfried Kretschmann attacked 
former national party chief Fritz Kuhn for accepting the 
compromise.  "You should have never agreed to the 
extension," Kretschmann said. End Note.) 
 
3.  (SBU) The B-W Greens are relieved, now that ENBW is 
accepting an official contract that determines November 15, 
2005 as the final shutdown date.  They feel now that a 
contract is signed, ENBW cannot exploit tricks and loopholes 
to push the extension beyond 2005.  Individual party members 
still criticized National Environment Minister Trittin for 
not pushing Goll for an earlier date.  Nevertheless, 
Obrigheim will be shutdown well before the next B-W state 
elections, in the spring of 2006.  B-W Minister of 
Economics, Walter Doering (FDP), criticized the planned 
shutdown of the reactor, stating that alternative employment 
opportunities will need to be found for the people affected. 
However, the news lifts a big burden from the B-W Greens. 
Already under attack for making too many compromises, the 
Green Party's chances in the 2006 B-W state elections could 
have been seriously harmed by Obrigheim's continued 
operation beyond 2005.  In addition, the Green rank and file 
remains angry with its national leadership for accepting the 
two-year extension in the first place.  Minister Trittin's 
surprise announcement will help to smooth ruffled feathers 
in the southwest. 
 
4. (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy 
Berlin. 
 
BODDE