WHAT WOULD-BE THE PRICE OF OPTING OUT OF NUCLEAR-POWER

In April 1994, Greenpeace presented a study of opting out of nuclear p ower. The study arrived at the finding that the supply situation in Ge rmany permitted all nuclear power plants to be shut down permanently b y 1999. Opting out of nuclear power would reduce by DM 85 billion the electricity generation costs arising to the national economy between 1 995 and 2010, and decrease the conversion into electrical energy from 715 TWh to 421 TWh. These findings of the Greenpeace study are untenab le. The scope of the study is unduly restricted to the generation and use of electricity; interactions with other sectors of the economy are neglected. In its assumptions the study is based on an exaggerated el ectricity requirement and on excessive possibilities of saving electri city; the underlying fuel costs are incorrect. The potential of renewa ble energy sources is overestimated. The internalization of external c osts is based of figures which are too high. Moreover, the study fails to take into account that the use of nuclear power an energy conserva tion are not mutually exclusive. The positive impact on environmental protection exerted by the use of nuclear power is not mentioned at all .