Brokdorf and Grohnde nuclear power plants have ceased commercial operation
1 January 2022
Last night, shortly before midnight, the Brokdorf (KBR) and Grohnde (KWG) nuclear power plants were shut down as scheduled. This marks the end of more than 35 and 36 years of safe and reliable electricity generation in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.
With Brokdorf and Grohnde, two world champions have now gone off the grid for good: Since its first grid synchronisation on 14 October 1986, KBR has generated more than 380 billion kilowatt hours of electricity (gross). In addition, the plant on the Elbe has twice been world champion in annual electricity generation and has ranked among the world’s top ten nuclear power plants 21 times. KWG has produced almost 410 billion kilowatt hours of electricity (gross) since 5 September 1984 – more than any other power plant unit worldwide. The pressurised water reactor on the Weser has been world champion in annual electricity generation a total of eight times, breaking two world records.
Site teams have delivered an outstanding performance
On the occasion of the final shutdown of the Brokdorf and Grohnde nuclear power plants, PreussenElektra CEO Dr Guido Knott, speaking on behalf of the entire board of management, said: "Our most heartfelt thanks go to our site teams who have done an outstanding job over the years. We are very proud of their performance, as it has made a decisive contribution to the safe, climate-friendly and reliable supply of electricity in Germany over decades. We would also like to thank the plant manufacturer, our service partner companies, our neighbours and the representatives of the supervisory authorities and expert organisations. After the shutdown, we are now looking ahead, because there are many new exciting tasks and challenges for us in the dismantling phase."
"Our nuclear power plants’ performance is an impressive confirmation of our expertise and our safety culture. Safety is always our top priority. Combined with reliability, high quality awareness and our striving for continuous improvement, it constitutes PreussenElektra’s mission statement. We have always lived up to this mission statement with passion as well as respect and appreciation for each other – this is what has made us so successful as an operator," said Dr Erwin Fischer, Director of Power Operations and Technology at PreussenElektra.
Uwe Jorden, site manager of the Brokdorf nuclear power plant, and Michael Bongartz, site manager of the Grohnde nuclear power plant, addressed the public with some personal words. The two video messages in German can be found here:
Statement by Uwe Jorden (Brokdorf)
https://youtu.be/_nAhKxP7xUg
Statement by Michael Bongartz (Grohnde)
https://youtu.be/kT9UIin5Rcg
End of commercial operation accompanied by communication to the general public
As part of its farewell to the Brokdorf and Grohnde nuclear power plants as successful electricity generators and to thank the employees at the sites for years of dedication and commitment, PreussenElektra last year conducted a number of communication activities, the most visible being the illumination of the power plant buildings in the week from 13 to 17 December 2021 with messages of thanks to the power plant teams, partner companies and companions as well as local residents projected onto the power plant dome and the cooling tower.
About PreussenElektra
PreussenElektra GmbH operates the Isar 2 nuclear power plant (Bavaria) in Germany for electricity production. The nuclear power plants Brokdorf (Schleswig-Holstein) and Grohnde (Lower Saxony) were shut down on 31.12.2021 and are now in post-operation. The Isar 1 (Bavaria) and Unterweser (Lower Saxony) plants, which were shut down in 2011, are currently being dismantled, as is the Grafenrheinfeld (Bavaria) nuclear power plant, which was shut down in 2015. The dismantling of the Stade nuclear power plant (Lower Saxony) is making good progress while dismantling of the Würgassen nuclear power plant (North Rhine-Westphalia) has already been completed. PreussenElektra's goal is to generate climate-friendly and reliable electricity in Bavaria until the end of 2022 and ensure the safe dismantling of the remaining decommissioned plants by 2040.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by E.ON Group Management and other information currently available to E.ON. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. E.ON SE does not intend to update and does not assume any liability whatsoever for updating these forward-looking statements or conforming them to future events or developments.