nuclear phase-out
Nuclear power plant Emsland is finally switched off
Water vapor rises from the cooling tower of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant. Photo
© Armin Weigel/
The Emsland nuclear power plant in Lingen was finally taken off the grid and shut down on Saturday evening. This was announced by the power plant operator RWE. This means that none of the previous five nuclear power plants in Lower Saxony are now connected to the grid.
The Emsland nuclear power plant in Lingen was finally taken off the grid and shut down on Saturday evening. This was announced by the power plant operator RWE. This means that none of the previous five nuclear power plants in Lower Saxony are now connected to the grid.
According to the Atomic Energy Act, the end of the two other remaining nuclear power plants in Germany was also planned for Saturday: In addition to the Emsland power plant, there are Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg and Isar 2 in Bavaria.
The reactors were actually supposed to be shut down at the end of last year. Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis, the traffic light coalition decided last year to continue running the reactors over the winter until mid-April.
The nuclear power plant in the 50,000-resident town of Lingen had a 1,400 megawatt block. The plant was put into operation in 1988. Since then, the power plant has produced around eleven billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, according to the operator RWE. The power was enough for 3.5 million households. About 350 people work in the power plant. The operator RWE expects the first dismantling phase to last 14 years.