Berlin - German nuclear power stations should continue to operate 12 years beyond 2012, which is the date they are scheduled to close, according to the German Economics Minister Rainer Bruederle said in an interview with a daily newspaper. The future of nuclear power stations and the possibility of taxing nuclear energy are issues now at the center of the German political debate. At he end of September the government should present its national energy plan, at which point everything will become clear. According to some media outlets, the government would favor an extension of their operating life for another ten years. "Some research shows that extension of the power stations' operating life from between 12 and 120 years would produce major economic advantages," the minister explained. The operators of German's 17 nuclear power stations are in talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel about the tax that should bring 2.3 billion euro into government coffers as part of the austerity program.