Clifford Chance
Renewable Energy: Infinite Resources, Finite Incentives - 3rd Edition
19 November 2012
As we move closer to 2020, it has never looked more difficult for some countries to meet their national greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. In many jurisdictions, nuclear energy has been considered the answer to carbon reduction whilst fulfilling everincreasing
domestic energy demand. However, 2011 saw a global shift away from the nuclear option, triggered in part by the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. Subsequently, Germany announced that the entirety of the country’s nuclear power plants would be phased out by 2022; Switzerland and others followed suit. This shift away from nuclear power by some countries had a knock-on effect on those countries that still place nuclear power at the heart of their energy policy, as certain developers with nuclear expertise decided instead to focus on the development of renewables and cheaper forms of conventional power (such as gas-fired power), particularly in jurisdictions where they may not have much experience, but where they might consider there to be an easier
investment framework.
