Good production year for PreussenElektra's nuclear power plants
23 January 2020
Once again, PreussenElektra's three nuclear power plants, Brokdorf, Grohnde and Isar 2, clocked up a solid year of production: in total, the three power plants generated nearly 33 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity during 2019. The production from these three plants alone is enough to supply 13 million electric cars with low-carbon electricity[1].
With an availability of almost 90%, the power plants were nearly fully available. Last summer's long spell of dry weather and high ambient and cooling water temperatures had no notable impact upon the plants.
With gross electricity generation of 12 billion kilowatt hours, Isar 2 nuclear power plant (Bavaria) was once the highest producer of the German nuclear power plants and, as such, is once again in the running to be amongst the top 3 producers worldwide. Grohnde nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony produced around 10.7 billion kilowatt hours (gross) and Brokdorf in Schleswig-Holstein produced a good 10 billion kilowatt hours (gross). 2019 also saw the 35th anniversary of Grohnde's synchronization to the grid: with a total generation around 386 billion kilowatt hours since it was commissioned, the power plant continues to be the uncontested world leader: no single plant in the world has so far produced as much electricity. As part of the scheduled maintenance outages, PreussenElektra invested approximately €50 million in its power plants.
"My thanks go to colleagues in the power plants and at company headquarters, as well as our contractors' employees, whose commitment has enabled us to ensure safe and reliable operation," said Dr. Erwin Fischer, Director responsible for Technology and Operations. "We will do everything we can in the few remaining years of production to contribute towards reliable and climate-friendly electricity production in Germany. We are occasionally asked whether our three plants might continue to operate but the answer to that is an unequivocal NO: Everything is set for dismantling of the plants and there is no possibility of their extended operation. We submitted decommissioning and dismantling applications in good time and the licensing procedures are already well underway."
By supporting the grid, the three nuclear power plants help to stabilize the electricity network. Almost on a daily basis, the power plants step their output up or down to flexibly adjust to the demands of the market and the grid operators. The low-carbon electricity they produce also saves around 29 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
Brokdorf nuclear power plant (KBR) has a gross installed capacity of 1,480 MW and employs around 500 people on site. KBR was first connected to the grid in 1986 and its electricity production has been ranked in the global top 10 on 21 occasions and it has twice been the World Champion electricity generator. In accordance with the 13th Amendment of the Atomic Energy Act, Brokdorf is scheduled to be retired from the grid by 31 December 2021 at the latest.
Grohnde nuclear power plant has a gross installed capacity of 1,430 MW and employs around 500 people. In February 2016, the power plant became the first in the world to generate 350 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and, since it was commissioned in September 1984, it has eight times been the world’s top producer. In accordance with the 13th Amendment of the Atomic Energy Act, Grohnde is scheduled to be retired from the grid by 31 December 2021 at the latest.
Isar 2 nuclear power plant (KKI 2) has a gross installed capacity of 1,485 MW. KKI 2 has been operating since 1988 and, since then, has topped the annual electricity generation charts 10 times. In accordance with the 13th Amendment of the Atomic Energy Act, Isar 2 is scheduled to be retired from the grid by 31 December 2022 at the latest. Dismantling work on Isar 1 nuclear power plant has been underway since April 2017. Around 500 of our own employees are working on site.
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.
[1] Calculation based on average figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority and manufacturers' data.