A new German government report is stoking fears that the country’s energy companies can’t shoulder the cost of a government plan to close the country’s nuclear-power plants. Germany aims to phase out its nine remaining reactors by 2022, faster than almost any country. But nobody knows exactly how much it costs to shut and clean up atomic-power plants and all the facilities used over decades to store radioactive waste. Building a depository for the waste deep underground and delivering the waste add additional unknown costs. Berlin promises utilities will foot the bill, but the new report, released Friday, raises the prospect of German taxpayers ending up on the hook. The issue is particularly acute because German power companies are already struggling financially. Chancellor Angela Merkel ’s campaign to wean Germany off nuclear and […]