Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant

"KGR" redirects here. For Kjøbenhavns Grundejeres Renholdningsselskab, see Renholdningsselskabet af 1898.

Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant
Several of the units of the Greifswald NPP
Country	Germany, previously East Germany
Location	Greifswald
Coordinates	54°8′26.11″N13°39′51.92″E / 54.1405861°N 13.6644222°E / 54.1405861; 13.6644222
Status	Decommissioned
Construction began	1967
Commission date	12 July 1974
Decommission date	22 July 1990
Operator	Energiewerke Nord
Nuclear power station
Reactor type	VVER
Reactor supplier	Atomenergoexport Škoda
Power generation
Make and model	Škoda Electrosila
Units decommissioned	5 x 440  MW
Capacity factor	55.4%
Annual net output	10,678 GWh
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons

Greifswald nuclear power station (German: Kernkraftwerk Greifswald, KKW Greifswald), also known as Lubmin nuclear power station, was the largest nuclear power station in East Germany before it was shut down shortly after the German reunification. The plant's reactors were of the VVER-440/V-230 type, which was the second generation of Soviet-designed reactors. The plant is located in Lubmin near Greifswald, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

When operational, the plant provided roughly one third of East Germany's energy needs. As of 2024, around 1000 workers continue to work on the site 35 years later for decommissioning purposes.

History

Construction of the Nuclear Power Plant (Units 1 to 4)

Even before the completion and commissioning of the GDR's first Industrial 70 MW experimental reactor in Rheinsberg in 1966, a government agreement was concluded on July 14, 1965, between the GDR and the USSR for the construction of a second nuclear power plant with approximately 2,000 MW of electrical output on the territory of the GDR, as well as the delivery of the nuclear components from the USSR. ^{[1] [2]}

As part of a site selection process, Lubmin, near Greifswald, was favored. Reasons for this included the year-round, sufficient supply of cooling water from the Baltic Sea, the low agricultural value of the land, and the low population density, which were intended to reduce the impact of an accident. On the other hand, the great distance between northern GDR and the electricity consumption centers in the south, and the resulting higher transmission losses, were drawbacks. ^[3]

Site development began in 1967, and construction of four VVER-440/230 reactor units started in 1969. The main contractor was VEB BMK Kohle und Energie. Construction of the first four units was completed within the internationally accepted timeframe. However, at the 14th session of the SED Central Committee, held from December 9 to 11, 1970, it was criticized that the project costs were double the projected estimate. ^[4] Industrial operation began in 1974 with Unit 1, in 1975 with Unit 2, in 1978 with Unit 3, and in 1979 with Unit 4. From then on, the first four units covered approximately 10% of the GDR's electricity needs. ^[5] The VVER reactor type used is a water-cooled, water-moderated reactor, whose operation is fundamentally analogous to "Western" light water reactors.

Closure

In late 1989, nuclear regulatory bodies of countries operating VVER plants found the need to fit many new safety systems, which were stated to have been necessary in almost all areas. ^[6] All East German reactors were closed soon after reunification, with restarting conditional on compliance with the stricter West German safety standards.

Convinced that upgrading to the new safety standards was not economically feasible, the new unified German government decided in early 1991 to decommission the four active units, close unit 5, which was under test at the time, and halt construction of the rest of the facility's units as well as two VVER-1000s being built at the Stendal Nuclear Power Plant. ^[7]

The district heating supplied by the plant was replaced by oil imports and in 1995 by a new natural gas plant. Decommissioning of units 1 through 5 began in 1995, making Greifswald one of the first nuclear power stations in Germany to go through the process. The plant came into focus again in 1996 when it was decided to move 235 unspent fuel assemblies to the Hungarian Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which is of the same design.

At its peak, the plant employed around 10,000 full-time workers; around 1,000 are working on decommissioning and other activities at the site.

Incidents

Greifswald control room in 1990

• 7 December 1975 - An electrician wanted to show his apprentice how to bridge electrical circuits. He decided to short-circuit the primary winding on one of the Unit 1 pumps by developing an arc following the edge of a wiring loom. The fire in the main trough destroyed the current supply and the control lines of five of the unit's six main coolant pumps. The fire was quickly brought under control by the fire-brigade and the pumps were temporarily repaired. After this near-disaster, fire protection within the power station was substantially strengthened and separate electrical lines for each pump were introduced. The incident was only made public in 1989. A few hours after the incident the IAEA was informed by Soviet authorities, which classified the accident under INES 4, later revised to INES 3. ^{[8] [9]}
• 24 November 1989 - Three out of six cooling water pumps were switched off for a test. A fourth pump broke down and control of the reactor was lost; ten fuel elements were damaged and the reactor was close to melting down. The accident was reportedly attributed to sticky relay contacts. ^[10]

Reactor summary

Unit	Type	Net Power	Gross Power	Start of construction	Construction completed	Commercial operation	Shut down
Greifswald - 1 (KGR 1)	VVER-440/230	408 MW	440 MW	1 March 1970	17 December 1973	12 July 1974	14 February 1990
Greifswald - 2 (KGR 2)	VVER-440/230	408 MW	440 MW	1 March 1970	23 December 1974	16 April 1975	14 February 1990
Greifswald - 3 (KGR 3)	VVER-440/230	408 MW	440 MW	1 April 1972	24 October 1977	1 May 1978	28 February 1990
Greifswald - 4 (KGR 4)	VVER-440/230	408 MW	440 MW	1 April 1972	3 September 1979	1 November 1979	22 July 1990
Greifswald - 5 (KGR 5)	VVER-440/213	408 MW	440 MW	1 December 1976	24 April 1989	1 November 1989	24 November 1989
Greifswald - 6 (KGR 6)	VVER-440/213	408 MW	440 MW		Finished, never operated	-	-
Greifswald - 7 (KGR 7)	VVER-440/213	408 MW	440 MW		Canceled	-	-
Greifswald - 8 (KGR 8)	VVER-440/213	408 MW	440 MW		Canceled	-	-

See also

• Germany portal
• Energy portal
• Nuclear technology portal

• Nuclear power in Germany
• Repository for radioactive waste Morsleben

Nuclear plants built in the former East Germany

• Stendal Nuclear Power Plant
• Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant

References

1. Joachim Kahlert (1988), Die Kernenergiepolitik in der DDR – Zur Geschichte uneingelöster Fortschrittshoffnungen, Köln: Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, p. 151, ISBN   3-8046-8713-X
2. Per Högselius (2005), Die deutsch-deutsche Geschichte des Kernkraftwerkes Greifswald. Atomenergie zwischen Ost und West, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, p. 127, ISBN   978-3830510192
3. Per Högselius (2005), Die deutsch-deutsche Geschichte des Kernkraftwerkes Greifswald. Atomenergie zwischen Ost und West, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, p. 127, ISBN   978-3830510192
4. Stefan Wolle (2013), Die heile Welt der Diktatur: Alltag und Herrschaft in der DDR 1971–1989, Berlin: Ch. Links Verlag, p. 33, ISBN   978-3861535546
5. Per Högselius (2005), Die deutsch-deutsche Geschichte des Kernkraftwerkes Greifswald. Atomenergie zwischen Ost und West, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, p. 127, ISBN   978-3830510192
6. "Safety Assessment of the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 to 4". Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
7. NEI Source Book: Fourth Edition (NEISB_4.1), section on "NUCLEAR ENERGY IN EASTERN EUROPE"
8. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 46 (6): 27. July 1990. ISSN   0096-3402.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. "Last Soviet Reactor in Eastern Germany Shut". The New York Times. 16 December 1990. p. Section 1, p.13.
10. "nuclearfiles.org, Accidents 1980's". Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2009.