Germany is nearing a deal with its major utilities to close all the nation’s nuclear power plants by 2023. If a formal round of talks scheduled for tomorrow goes as planned, each of Germany’s 19 nuclear plants would be phased out after 35 years online, the first one going out of service in 2003 and the last in 2023. Under the proposed plan, the government would not levy any special taxes on utilities, and utilities would agree not to sue the government over the plant closures or transport nuclear fuel outside Germany as of 2004.
