By taking this decision Siemens has aligned itself with the German Goverment's policy of shutting down all the nuclear power plants in the next 10 years.
There has been a great awakening among common people about the pssoble disasters associated with Nuclear power plants. With so much of the safeguards built in into the nuclear power reactor design - the danger of radiation leaks and their harmful effects still looms large - the Fukushima incident has highlighted this risk.
With so many alternate energy generation options available now ( This was not the case may be 20 years back ) why should one play with a potentailly dangerous thing as nuclear energy.
May be the coglomerate such as Siemens has seen this long term doomsday for Nuclear power and acted to safeguard its business.
Here in India where there is an acute shortage of generation capacity, the public opinion is still strongly against the upcoming nuclear power plants.
Thanks for hte comment - I thnk Siemens is taking the 'long view' and betting that public opinion will continue to mount against nuclear - at least in the West. The Fuk disaster shows clearly the social cost and the risks involved. Whether public opinion against nuclear will be strong enough to stop or slow India's plans to build nuclear power plants is another question. With an accute shortage of power and the growth of the economy, is there an alternative?
This is a bold step indeed, and impressive due to the speed with which it was handled. Aside from the nuclear debate, you have to admire the precedent it sets for decision making, particularly among global conglomerates.
The cynic inside me wants to ask how much did Siemens project it was going to make from maintining its nuclear business. At the end of the day I reckon it was a dollars and cents decision and not purely altruistic.
I think that this is a step taken in hurry. I is hard to believe that Siemen can align its future strategy based on the policy change of just one country. There is an actue power shortage in developing countries and Nuclear seems to be the cheapest option available...i still have to think whether it is the safer than coal/petrol fuel. The Fuk disaster is for sure of awakening but are we really going to abandon this technology? Germany can subsidize the renewable energy but i donot think that all developing countries can do that. I am not against the renewable energy but i want to have all the options remain open.
I agree.For so many fast developing countries out there;nuclear is slowly but surely working out as not just the most cost-effective option but also the least polluting(if you implement all the required safeguards in place and not skimp on safety standards as the TEPCO people did at Fukushima).
What is more likely to happen is this-Germany's loss will be Korea(& Japan's) Gain as these countries move to the fore-front of nuclear power suppliers for most of the Developing world.
I don't see too many Indians refusing to switching on their ACs(& coolers) in the sweltering summer heat or for that matter refusing to watch all their favorite shows on High End TVs or for that matter stop using refrigerators,washing machines and all the latest gizmos today.
All this requires tremendous-tremendous amounts of electricity.
So where is this electricity going to come from(if nobody is open to the option of building newer power plants/whether they be Coal/Natural gas or Nuclear???).
Most Coal power plants are on standby because of lack of Coal(thanks to all those maoist insurgents who are refusing to let miners mine) and now this opposition to nuclear.
It makes no sense.
And then they expect to have 24 hour,reliable power supply???
What gives???
This is just an extension of the very famous NIMBY[Not in My Backyard] phenomenon that played out in America for the longest amount of time.Everyone wants to drive the latest SUV but nobody wants a refinery to refine the Crude into Gasoline in their own State/locality.
Many leading environmentalists agree that nucler is an important energy source in the process of weaning ourselves off petroleum and coal-based power plants. Many argue that the world can't make the transition without nuclear. So in the short-term it has to be among the option for large-scale power generation, especially in developing nations that are so power hungry. As for Siemens, it will still be producing turbines and other equipment used in nuclear power plants and I believe it will continue to honor the service contracts for the plants it built until they are retired. It just won't pursue new nuclear-specific business.
Unfortunately,too many of those types get drowned out by the idealists who believe its possible to save the world and use their Ipads at the same time;after all its not like you can run your ipad on your own bio-energy as of yet.Can you???
Wish if it were true folks.But till that time happens we need all the Energy we can get.
I don't see anything wrong with the decision itself, but the timing is just not right. Decisions like these can't be a short-term strategy where the actions are implemented immediately. As pointed out earlier, there is already acute shortage of cheap power resources and this action will make it worse. An ideal approach would have been to gradually cut down the dependency on nuclear power while investing into alternate means of energy generation.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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