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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--After 33 years of service, Germany's RWE AG (FWB:RWE) (Essen, Germany) has announced the closure of the Gundremmingen B boiling water reactor in the south of the country as Germany continues its rapid exit from nuclear power.
The plant was ordered to be shut at the end of last year as part of Germany's "Energiewende" (energy transition) strategy to greatly boost renewable energy at the cost of more traditional power sources such as nuclear and coal-fired power. After eight years of construction, Gundremmingen B was commissioned in 1984, boasting a 1,284-megawatt boiling water reactor that generated 330 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity over its lifetime. Plant operator Kernkraftwerk Gundremmingen (KGG) stated: "That is more than half the annual electricity consumption in Germany. With the power generated in the block, around three million private households or a metropolitan area such as Munich, including industry, commerce and transport, could be reliably supplied with electricity."
The plant is 75% owned by RWE, with E.ON SE (FWB:EOAN) (Düsseldorf) owning the remaining 25%. The Gundremmingen C reactor on site will continue to operate until 2021.
"We are proud of the performance of the Gundremmingen team, who operated unit B safely and reliably until the last hour, optimising it with the same professionalism," said RWE Power executive board member Nikolaus Valerius, attending the shutdown ceremony. "With great motivation, we now tackle the safe dismantling of the plant."
The plant is still awaiting approval for the decommissioning project to begin, but in the meantime KGG said that Gundremmingen B's spent fuel will be first loaded from the storage pool into CASTOR containers and taken to the interim storage facility.
A few months after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in early 2011, the German government took the surprise decision to abandon nuclear power, ordering the immediate closure of eight older nuclear reactors and approving measures that would finally shut down all of the country's 17 reactors by 2022. For additional information, see May 30, 2011, article - Germany Votes to Dump Nuclear Power.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The plant was ordered to be shut at the end of last year as part of Germany's "Energiewende" (energy transition) strategy to greatly boost renewable energy at the cost of more traditional power sources such as nuclear and coal-fired power. After eight years of construction, Gundremmingen B was commissioned in 1984, boasting a 1,284-megawatt boiling water reactor that generated 330 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity over its lifetime. Plant operator Kernkraftwerk Gundremmingen (KGG) stated: "That is more than half the annual electricity consumption in Germany. With the power generated in the block, around three million private households or a metropolitan area such as Munich, including industry, commerce and transport, could be reliably supplied with electricity."
The plant is 75% owned by RWE, with E.ON SE (FWB:EOAN) (Düsseldorf) owning the remaining 25%. The Gundremmingen C reactor on site will continue to operate until 2021.
"We are proud of the performance of the Gundremmingen team, who operated unit B safely and reliably until the last hour, optimising it with the same professionalism," said RWE Power executive board member Nikolaus Valerius, attending the shutdown ceremony. "With great motivation, we now tackle the safe dismantling of the plant."
The plant is still awaiting approval for the decommissioning project to begin, but in the meantime KGG said that Gundremmingen B's spent fuel will be first loaded from the storage pool into CASTOR containers and taken to the interim storage facility.
A few months after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in early 2011, the German government took the surprise decision to abandon nuclear power, ordering the immediate closure of eight older nuclear reactors and approving measures that would finally shut down all of the country's 17 reactors by 2022. For additional information, see May 30, 2011, article - Germany Votes to Dump Nuclear Power.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
