Merkel wants to delay nuclear extension plan-sources

BERLIN Oct 9 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to postpone any decision on extending the lifespans of German nuclear energy plants until after a key state election in May 2010, government and industry sources said on Friday.

"The chancellor's view is that there should only be a very general formulation in the coalition agreement," one source told Reuters.

A past German centre-left government of Social Democrats and Greens began a 20-year phase-out of nuclear power in Germany in 2000. But Merkel's conservatives and the Free Democrats (FDP), who are in talks to form a new government, have both voiced support for extending the lifespans of plants judged safe.

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are keen to hold onto power in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state. Opinion polls show a clear majority of Germans opposed to extending nuclear power.

(Reporting by Markus Wacket; writing by Erik Kirschbaum)