Germany’s nuclear power phase out begins its final phase with the closing of the 1.3 GW Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant this Saturday. The plant is the first of the final nine plants scheduled for decommissioning, which represent the nine newest plants in the country, according to German media.
The reactor in the southern state of Bavaria is only 33 years old, about half of its potential operational life expectancy. But German utility E.ON decided to close the plant ahead of the government’s phase out time schedule due to economic reasons. In an era in which Germany has second-guessed its nuclear power investment, a nuclear fuel tax hangs over the head of plant owners. In the case of Grafenrheinfeld, that annual tax has been estimated at $89 million.
At the same time, concerns have arisen that Germany’s electricity grid is threatened by the closing nuclear power plants and the sudden reliance on renewable energy sources. “The closure of Grafenrheinfeld can be handled, but only with additional intervention by our network engineers,” said Urban Keussen, chairman of the German division of TenneT Holding BV.
Reuters reported that 12 years ago, there were two or three “special incidents” per year in which engineers had to make adjustments to load flows to maintain a reliable grid in Germany. Now, while the country has admittedly made significant strides in renewable power, there are two or three load adjustments made every day, according to Keussen.
Germany decided to phase out nuclear power in 2000, well before the triple-meltdown disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, which was the result of a tsunami incident triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011.
Germany then decided, in 2009, to extend the nuclear power option, but that extension came to an abrupt halt a few days after the Great East Japan Earthquake, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to accelerate nuclear plant closures. In effect, the extension was canceled.
The immediate future for Germany includes a fast-tracked and subsidized program for solar and wind power, but a phase out of a reliable, pollution-free power source. About half of Germany’s electricity will be generated through coal-burning plants, despite a rush to install about 80 GW capacity from renewable sources.
In 2014, the Grafenrheinfeld plant generated about 1.6 percent of Germany’s electricity production.