Almost a year after the last Bavarian nuclear power plant was shut down, the dismantling permit has now been issued. The decision for the Isar 2 kiln in Essenbach in the Landshut district was issued on Friday, said a spokesman for the Ministry of the Environment. This means that the operator Preussen Elektra can carry out the dismantling immediately.
Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber (Free Voters) described Germany’s nuclear phase-out as wrong on Friday. “We have always advocated allowing the nuclear power plants to temporarily continue to operate as a climate-friendly bridge,” said the minister. And further: “With the Atomic Energy Act, the federal government is forcing the decision to dismantle Isar 2 to be issued. This is the next step in the federal government’s wrong path in energy policy. This closes a major chapter in Bavaria’s energy supply.”
Isar 2 was taken off the grid shortly before midnight on April 15, 2023, together with the Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony and Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg. With the shutdown of the last three nuclear power plants still running, Germany completed its nuclear phase-out. According to the ministry, Isar 2 covered around 18 percent of Bavarian electricity production before it was shut down.
Preparatory measures for dismantling then began in Isar 2. In the fall, Preussen Elektra managing director Guido Knott announced that the system could no longer be started up. “The issue of recommissioning is definitely off the table for us.” The dismantling should be completed by the end of the 2030s.