Construction of the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in the southern state of Bavaria began in 1975 and it became commercially operational in 1982. It was the oldest nuclear power plant in Germany, but it was closed in 2015 as part of the government’s abandonment policy. nuclear energy.
After a short delay, the two cooling towers of Germany’s oldest nuclear power plant have been blown up. The blasting of the two 143-meter-high cooling towers of the plant was originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m., but was postponed until almost 8:00 p.m. after a nuclear energy advocate climbed one of the pylons to protest the destruction.
According to police spokesman Denis Stegner, the anonymous activist had chained himself to the mast at a height of 10 meters and was freed by a special team before being taken away by police.
Construction of the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in the Schweinfurt district of northern Bavaria began in 1975 and It was put into operation in 1982. It was the oldest nuclear power plant in Germany.
End of the use of nuclear energy in Germany
In the course of the nuclear elimination of the German governmentwas closed in 2015. Then-Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said the closure was “a visible sign that nuclear phase-out is progressing.”
“Each nuclear power plant being removed from the grid reduces the so-called residual risk associated with the use of nuclear power plants and takes us a step further in transforming our energy supply,” Hendricks said in 2015.
However, Ulrich Grillo, former president of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), warned that The dismantling of nuclear power plants could also have negative effects.
“If a power plant is disconnected from the grid, at regional level it becomes more difficult to guarantee security of supply,” he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. To maintain the viability of Germany’s clean energy industry, production and jobs must be secured, he said.
As part of the energy transition, Germany wants to get around 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.
Currently, a quarter of Germany’s electricity demand is met by sustainable sourcesbut there are doubts about the sustainability of the energy transition.
During the time that Grafenrheinfeld was in operation, the power plant supplied more than 11 percent of Bavaria’s electricityaccording to German energy supplier E.ON.
Demolition project manager Matthias Aron said that after demolition, concrete rubble will be used to fill the two sinkholes under the towers.
The blasting, which lasted about 30 seconds, produced around 55,000 tons of concrete rubble. “The two towers have been with us for as long as I can remember. They are an important landmark. They have always been a symbol for us,” said Grafenrheinfeld Mayor Christian Keller.
