BERLIN, Aug 28 (Reuters) - German nuclear power plants should continue operating for a further 12 years beyond their scheduled shutdown date of 2021, Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said in an interview released on Saturday.
Bruederle, who has strongly backed extending nuclear power use beyond 2021, offered the target -- longer than other proposals from within the government -- ahead of the publication of an energy development plan due at the end of September.
'Research into different scenarios showed the economic advantages are greatest if nuclear power is extended by 12 to 20 years compared to extensions at either extreme, such as just four years or as many as 28 years,' he told Wirtschaftswoche.
Other German media have reported the government is considering backing a 10-year extension.
Germany has 17 nuclear plants, whose operators are embroiled in a scrap with Chancellor Angela Merkel over a planned nuclear power tax the government hopes will contribute 2.3 billion euros ($2.93 billion) per year to an austerity programme.
The Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper had reported Merkel and top cabinet members had agreed to extend the use of nuclear power by 10 years.
Merkel denied that at a news conference on Friday, when the government received an experts' report with four different scenarios that will form the basis for a decision about whether to extend the use of nuclear power and by how long.
Under a nuclear phase-out law passed by the former centre-left Social Democrat-Greens government of Gerhard Schroeder, all German nuclear plants are due to shut by 2021.
Merkel wants to extend their lifespans while forcing utilities to hand over more of their profits.
The biggest utilities, E.ON, RWE, Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg and Vattenfall have campaigned strongly against the nuclear fuel tax and pushed for a tax-deductible fixed charge instead.
Merkel, whose centre-right coalition's ratings have been plummeting, was last week criticised in an open letter signed by dozens of German industry bosses, who accused her of putting the country's future energy supply at risk.
Nuclear power providers had threatened to cut investments and possibly even shut down plants if the tax was implemented.
(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by John Stonestreet) ($1=.7861 Euro) Keywords: GERMANY NUCLEAR/ (Reuters messaging: erik.kirschbaum.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Bruederle, who has strongly backed extending nuclear power use beyond 2021, offered the target -- longer than other proposals from within the government -- ahead of the publication of an energy development plan due at the end of September.
'Research into different scenarios showed the economic advantages are greatest if nuclear power is extended by 12 to 20 years compared to extensions at either extreme, such as just four years or as many as 28 years,' he told Wirtschaftswoche.
Other German media have reported the government is considering backing a 10-year extension.
Germany has 17 nuclear plants, whose operators are embroiled in a scrap with Chancellor Angela Merkel over a planned nuclear power tax the government hopes will contribute 2.3 billion euros ($2.93 billion) per year to an austerity programme.
The Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper had reported Merkel and top cabinet members had agreed to extend the use of nuclear power by 10 years.
Merkel denied that at a news conference on Friday, when the government received an experts' report with four different scenarios that will form the basis for a decision about whether to extend the use of nuclear power and by how long.
Under a nuclear phase-out law passed by the former centre-left Social Democrat-Greens government of Gerhard Schroeder, all German nuclear plants are due to shut by 2021.
Merkel wants to extend their lifespans while forcing utilities to hand over more of their profits.
The biggest utilities, E.ON, RWE, Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg and Vattenfall have campaigned strongly against the nuclear fuel tax and pushed for a tax-deductible fixed charge instead.
Merkel, whose centre-right coalition's ratings have been plummeting, was last week criticised in an open letter signed by dozens of German industry bosses, who accused her of putting the country's future energy supply at risk.
Nuclear power providers had threatened to cut investments and possibly even shut down plants if the tax was implemented.
(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; editing by John Stonestreet) ($1=.7861 Euro) Keywords: GERMANY NUCLEAR/ (Reuters messaging: erik.kirschbaum.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.