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Germany: RWE turns off nuclear and looks to solar power

German utility giant RWE is now considering investments in solar energy and wants to completely move away from nuclear power. The new chief executive seeks to restructure the energy giant.

RWE seeks to completely get out of nuclear power plant development and looks towards solar energy.

RWE

According to a company spokesperson, the new chief executive Peter Terium, who will take the reigns on July 1, is looking to restructure the company and seeks to look into investment in solar energy. Local German media, "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported that RWE will also no longer develop nuclear power plants abroad, as the financial risks are too high for such projects.

Terium has said that with regards to solar power, a new phase of reassessment will be done. This way, RWE will engage in local solar project development and also in solar businesses with private consumers abroad. This shift in focus is also approved by the local shareholders in the group.

According to the company's corporate circle and rating agencies, it became clear in the last months that further risks taken in the direction of nuclear power development threaten creditworthiness. At the end of March, RWE and E.ON decided to pull out of their British nuclear power joint venture, Horizon Nuclear Power. Both companies have had to deal with the reprecussions of post-Fukushima nuclear policies in Germany.