After more than six decades of nuclear energy, the last three nuclear power plants in Germany went offline late on Saturday evening. As of midnight, electricity production in the reactors Isar 2 in Bavaria, Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony was no longer allowed by nuclear fission. And there are already calls for a change in the law that should make continuous operation possible.
According to the operator, the connection to the network in Meiler Emsland was lost at 22:37. Isar 2 followed at 11:52 PM and finally Neckarwestheim 2 at 11:59 PM. “The chapter is now closed,” said the boss of the Emsland operator RWE, Markus Krebber. “Now it is important to use all our strength to continue building hydrogen-capable gas-fired power stations as soon as possible in addition to renewable energy, so that security of supply is guaranteed if Germany ideally wants to phase out coal by 2030.”
“We are operating within the law and it is clear that power generation from April 16 would be a criminal offense,” said the federal government’s chief nuclear regulator, the chief of division for nuclear safety and radiation protection at the Ministry of the Environment. Gerrit Niehaus.
The Fukushima disaster led to the phasing out of nuclear power
More than 62 years ago, the first German nuclear power plant was commercially commissioned in Kahl, Lower Franconia. After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011, then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) pushed through the final phasing out of the technology in Germany. Actually, the poles should have been removed from the net at the end of last year. Because of the Russian offensive war against Ukraine, the traffic light coalition of her successor Olaf Scholz (SPD) decided after weeks of consultation in the autumn to let the three reactors run through the winter until mid-April.
“Nuclear phase-out festivities” celebrated and mourned due to job loss
With the exit, a new energy era begins: opponents of nuclear energy celebrated the historic step on Saturday with festivals in Berlin and elsewhere. Several hundred people came to Neckarwestheim for a “shutdown party” and the Bund Naturschutz and Greenpeace also organized a “nuclear phase-out party” in Munich. At the Lingen nuclear power station in Lower Saxony, hundreds of opponents of nuclear energy demonstrated against the level that the Bund Naturschutz and Greenpeace organized a “nuclear phase-out festival” there. At the Lingen nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony, hundreds of nuclear opponents demonstrated against the ANF nuclear fuel plant, also located there, and also demanded its closure.
However, at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Essenbach, Bavaria, there was dismay at the exit. According to the chairman of the Preussen-Elektra group, Guido Knott, the closure is an emotional moment for the employees of the furnace: “Today, after 50 years, electricity production from nuclear energy at Preussen-Elektra will end. We all like this very much, and it also affects me personally.”
Reactor “gets cold”
The group had previously explained the process in detail, which is practically the same for all three reactors: after disconnecting from the power grid, the reactor must be shut down within about fifteen minutes. Then it is “cooled”. This means that the temperature in the system is reduced to ambient temperature within approximately twelve hours. About nine hours after the shutdown, no steam should be visible above the cooling tower.
International farewell to nuclear energy
Internationally, however, it is not the first goodbye to nuclear energy: Italy has already given up nuclear energy in the aftermath of the Chernobyl reactor disaster (1986). Other countries are taking different paths. In Belgium, nuclear power plants must be able to operate until at least the end of 2035. The Swiss nuclear power plants may be used as long as they are safe; however, the construction of new facilities is prohibited. Spain’s left-wing government plans to shut down all of the country’s nuclear power plants between 2027 and 2035.
challenges remain
The challenges of dealing with the risky technology remain in Germany even after its exit from nuclear power. First of all, the piles must be dismantled as soon as possible. The Atomic Energy Act states that the nuclear power plants must be dismantled immediately, says nuclear regulator Niehaus. “On the one hand, that means continuing with the decommissioning approval process, but also taking the first permitted steps towards decommissioning.”
According to the Baden-Württemberg operator EnBW, a strategy had already been developed in 2012 for the decommissioning of their nuclear power plants. All decommissioning permits would already be in place. The operator of Isar 2, the Eon company Preussen-Elektra, on the other hand, expects the permit to be granted in the coming months and decommissioning to start in early 2024.
What to do with the radioactive waste?
And then there is the question of what to do with the radioactive waste? “We have been using nuclear energy in our country for about three generations and are producing waste that will remain hazardous for 30,000 generations,” said Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens). “We pass this responsibility on to our grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many generations to come.” Germany is in the middle of the search for a repository, which is a complex task for society as a whole.
Requirements to continue operating nuclear power plants
However, crucifixes came from Bavaria: Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder of the conservative CDU sister party CSU wants to continue operating nuclear power plants such as the Isar 2 reactor, which was shut down on Saturday evening, under state responsibility and is therefore demanding that the federal government amend the Atomic Energy Act .
A separate state responsibility for the continuation of nuclear energy is required, said Söder (CSU) of the “Bild am Sonntag”. “Until the crisis is over and the transition to renewables fails, we should be using every form of energy by the end of the decade.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
