EnBW could fight for its oldest reactor
.jpg "Neckarwestheim (EnBW)"){kind=small}
German utility EnBW has reacted strongly against a government decision on the lifespans of its reactors. It said it intends to investigate the ruling and could take legal action.
German nuclear utility EnBW has reacted strongly against a government decision on the lifespans of its reactors. It said it intends to investigate the ruling and could take legal action.
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| Neckarwestheim (Image: EnBW) |
German utilities make such applications under the country's Nuclear Exit Law, which effectively limited the lives all the country's reactors to an average of 35 years. This was done by allocating each reactor a certain amount of electricity it could generate before being forced to shut down.
Nuclear power reactors like those in Germany were typically designed for 40-year economic lives, but with the right maintenance programs the units can in theory be prepared to work for up to 60 years. Nearly 50 reactors in the USA have been granted licenses to operate for that long, subject to regular safety inspections.
At Neckarwestheim, unit 1 began operation 13 years before unit 2 and is slated to be closed next year. By transferring 46.9 TWh of power from unit 2's allocation to unit 1's EnBW had hoped to fix both units' shutdown dates in 2017. The company said this would maximise synergies and be the most economic way to manage the power plant as well as secure 400 jobs. In addition to the plant's total capacity of 2090 MWe, unit 1 also has a special role in generating power at 16.66 Hz for the Deutsche Bahn rail network.
However, the application was rejected by the ministry, which saw no reason to allow the change. One factor in its thinking was that unit 1's lifespan would have been extended, against the anti-nuclear principle of German policy. It did not appear to be swayed by the fact that unit 2 would have had its life shortened by five years.
EnBW said: "We continue to believe that our application is legally acceptable, well founded and correct. We will now investigate the decision and explicitly retain the right to take further legal steps." The company would need to act quickly: Neckarwestheim 1 is set to close next year.
In addition to plant management considerations, the company would like to keep Neckarwestheim 1 running until after the next general election, set for September 2009. Given that the current Chancellor, Angela Merkel, openly disagrees with the phase-out plan, nuclear operators hope a newly configured coalition government in 2009 could repeal the law. EnBW's Obrigheim reactor has already been closed early by the phase-out, as has Stade, owned by EOn and Vattenfall.
