Professor Philip Walton:

I would like to respond to the point about Germany. Nuclear power has been a very controversial issue in Germany over the years. It has been on again and off again. Germany's latest decision was a knee-jerk reaction, and I would not be surprised if it changed its mind again. Because of its decision, it is importing about 8,000 MW of electricity - the equivalent of the power produced by eight generating stations. Most of that is coming from the surrounding countries of France and the Czech Republic and is largely from nuclear sources. Thus, Germany is shutting down its own plants but is bringing in energy from other nuclear power plants.