By Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin

The upper house of Germany?s parliament on Friday cemented the country?s ambition to phase out nuclear power and double renewable energy production by 2022, with the government calling on the public to now play its part.

The Bundesrat, which is made up of representatives of the 16 federal states, passed seven bills that detail Chancellor Angela Merkel?s ?energy switch?, devised after the disaster at Japan?s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March.

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The upper house rejected an eighth bill about tax breaks for insulating homes, offices and factories, arguing that state budgets could not stretch to shoulder their statutory half of an expected tax shortfall of ?1.5bn ($2.1bn) a year.

But the bill looked set to be referred to a mediation committee made up of members of the upper house and lower house of parliament ? the Bundestag, which passed the entire legislative package with cross-party support last week.

Norbert R?ttgen, the environment minister and one of Ms Merkel?s chief policy architects, said a switch from nuclear to renewable energy could become an example for the rest of the world. ?This is a project for and by our citizens,? he said.

He expressed concern that the plan, which cuts red tape and provides incentives to builders of renewable plants, could be scuppered by resistance to the new infrastructure that will be needed.

Ms Merkel last year agreed to prolong Germany?s nuclear phase-out, approved a decade ago, to 2036. But she switched back to the old date after the disaster in Japan, angering Eon, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall, the nuclear generators.

Since March, the eight oldest of the country?s 17 nuclear power stations have been shut. The remaining plants will follow in four stages starting in 2015 and ending no later than 2022.

In that period, the government hopes to double electricity from renewable sources to 35 per cent of total output ? mainly by building offshore wind parks, though it will also push for gas-fired plants for a stable baseload.

One of the biggest challenges is building 4,500km of power lines to carry electricity generated offshore to the industrial centres in the south, where most of Germany?s nuclear plants stand.

Philipp R?sler, economy minister, praised the states for passing ? after much grumbling ? rules giving Berlin powers over the network planning. Public participation would increase acceptance of the new power lines, he added.

? The Financial Times Limited 2011