Shortly before the final end of the Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plant, opponents of nuclear power are trying to end its operation with immediate effect. They hope for the Administrative Court. However, he has already rejected an urgent application.
Mannheim (dpa/lsw) – Opponents of nuclear power want to have the Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plant shut down at the Administrative Court (VGH). In the main hearing on Wednesday (10:00 a.m.) in Mannheim, they want to ensure that the reactor, which they believe is dangerous due to cracks in the heating pipes in the steam generators, is immediately taken off the grid. The opponents of nuclear power refer to an expert opinion, according to which a core meltdown cannot be ruled out due to the damage. In the opinion of the residents of the power plant, supported by the anti-nuclear organization “broadcast”, Block 2 has been in continuous emergency operation since 2018.
In April 2022, the VGH had already rejected an urgent application for the temporary cessation of operations. The 10th Senate justified this by saying that the narrow requirements for this were not met. Success in the main proceedings is not likely and the applicants are not threatened with any existential dangers to life and limb.
In June 2020, the applicants at the Ministry of the Environment, as the nuclear regulatory authority, requested that operations be stopped. The Ministry rejected this, but the opponents of the nuclear power plant complained. No decision will be announced at the oral hearing.
After a dispute in the traffic light coalition about how to deal with the German nuclear power plants, Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke in mid-October. The SPD politician used his policy competence and instructed the responsible ministers to make legislative proposals so that the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland nuclear power plants can continue to operate beyond the end of the year until April 15, 2023. Actually, the three nuclear power plants should have gone offline on December 31 of this year.
Now Block 2 will shut down on December 31st and then stand still for two to three weeks. During this time, around 200 fuel elements will be reassembled. This should ensure electricity production of up to 1.7 billion kilowatt hours after the restart by mid-April.
Electricity production in Block I had already ended in 2011 after the federal government had decided to phase out nuclear power in Germany as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Block I went into operation in 1976, Block II 13 years later.
