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Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant | |
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Nuclear power plant Neckarwestheim | |
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Country | Germany |
Location | Neckarwestheim |
Coordinates | 49°02′30″N9°10′30″E / 49.04167°N 9.17500°E |
Status | Decommissioned |
Construction began | 1971 |
Commission date | 26 May 1976 |
Decommission date | 15 April 2023 |
Owner(s) | EnBW |
Operator(s) | EnBW |
Cooling towers | 1 |
Cooling source | Neckar River |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 1 × 1,400 MW |
Nameplate capacity | 1,435 MW |
Capacity factor | 87.1% |
Annual net output | 17,060 GW·h |
External links | |
Website | www |
Commons | Related media on Commons |
Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant in Neckarwestheim, Germany, sometimes abbreviated GKN (for German : Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Neckar), operated by EnBW Kernkraft GmbH, a subsidiary of EnBW.
As part of the nuclear power phase-out, it was taken out of service on April 15, 2023. [1] [2] Since the shutdown of the plant, Germany has been dependent on coal and natural gas to generate electricity. [3] [4]
Unit I, in service since 1976, carried a nominal electrical power of 840 megawatts. The 50 Hz three phase AC power was 567 megawatts and for the 16.7 Hz traction current power 174 MW. The traction current generator is the world's largest single-phase AC generators. The generator block 1 is rated 21,000 volts at a current of 27,000 amperes, and the traction current generator is rated 14,500 volts and a current of 12,000 amperes. The current produced by the generators was stepped up to 220 kilovolts (three-phase alternating current) or 110 kilovolts (single-phase traction current) with the unit transformers. Unit I was the only nuclear power station which produced traction current. Block I was shut down on 17 March 2011, for a three-month moratorium on nuclear power, an announcement on 30 May 2011 named block I as a unit that would not be returning to service for political reasons.
Block 2, in service since 1988, has a nominal electrical power of 1400 megawatts. The generator produces 50 Hz three-phase alternating current with a voltage of 27,000 V and a current of 35,000 amperes. Unlike Unit 1, no dedicated traction current generation takes place, but some of the power produced is converted at the traction current substation. This is transmitted through the 380 kV generator transformer block of the II and the 380 kV-machine transformer of the motor-generator sets.
The GKN station has a 16.7 Hz traction current converter plant. It is close to the switchgear of block II, has two identical sets, consisting of a three-phase 50 Hz AC motor with 12 poles and a four pole single phase 16.7 Hz AC synchronous generator. The rated voltage of the three-phase AC asynchronous machine and the traction current machine is 12.5 kV. The set has a length of 17.5 meters and a maximum width of 7 meters. The nominal power rating for each set is 70 megawatts, which are the largest traction current motor-generator sets ever built. It feeds the 110 kV balanced line traction power network through appropriate transformers. Power can be transferred from the Block II nuclear generator over the 380 kV transmission network.[ citation needed ]
As of 2011, there was a traction current inverter with a transmission rate of 140 MW under construction. It uses GTOs manufactured by ABB.[ citation needed ]
Dimensions of the outer concrete building of the double-containment are height of around 54,5 m and diameter of around 67 m. [5]
In order to avoid overheating of the river Neckar, both blocks have cooling towers. These are not built in the usual way. Block I uses two rows of cell cooling towers. Each row has a length of 186.8 meters and a height of 18 meters. Block II uses a hybrid cooling tower with a height of 51.22 meters. It was originally going to use a wet cooling tower, but later it was decided to use dry cooling towers because it would have less effect on the environment though more expensive. This unique type of cooling tower causes the unique shape seen in pictures.
In 1977, Unit I had the second most serious incident of a nuclear power plant in the German Federal Republic to that date. Numerous errors of a new crew led to damage of the secondary cycle and, at the same time, a defect of a valve led to an automatic reactor shutdown.
On 27 July 2004, slightly radioactively contaminated water with two megabecquerels activity was discharged from Unit II into the Neckar river [6] . As a result, for the first time in the Federal Republic, the operator company of a nuclear power plant paid a fine of €25,000 and a managing director was dismissed.[ citation needed ]
Power produced at GKN is transmitted over a transmission line carrying two circuits of traction current and three-phase alternating current line to the 220 kV-three phase AC and the 110 kV-traction current switchyard situated east of Neckarwestheim. This line is hung on pylons of unusual design with five cross beams. On the lowest cross bar there are two traction current circuits, while the second, third and fourth cross beam carry the three-phase circuits. These are operated, in the case of the GKN 1, with 220 kV and in the case of the GKN 2 with 380 kV. On the highest cross beam two ground conductors are installed. It is notable that the traction current circuits were insulated for 220 kV, although they are operated only with 110 kV. This measure was taken because, in case of a disturbance of the parallel 380 kV-line, overvoltages can occur which insulation designed for 110 kV cannot stand.[ citation needed ]
The traction current lines from the GKN to the traction current switching station at Neckarwestheim, and from there to the central substation in Stuttgart Zazenhausen, are implemented as four-bundle conductors.[ citation needed ]
The three-phase 380 kV circuit leading away from the nuclear power station GKN 2 runs past the 220 kV-three phase switchyard at Neckarwestheim to the transformer station at Großgartach near Heilbronn. another 110 kV-line for three phase AC with one circuit which originates in the switchgear of the coal-fired power station at Walheim also runs to the GKN. This line is not for export of the power produced by the GKN, but for start-up power for the nuclear plant.
Neckarwestheim and the GKN have never had a track connection to the railway network.
Geologist Hermann Behmel was a prominent opponent of the Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant. [7]
In April 2009, anti-nuclear activists blocked the entrance to the controversial Neckarwestheim Nuclear Plant with an 8-metre wall. Their protest coincided with the annual meeting of the company that runs the plant, Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW). [8]
On April 23rd 2014, the power plant featured on an episode of The Technical Difficulties in the game 'Citation Needed' presented by Tom Scott, Gary Brannan, Matt Gray, and Chris Joel. [9]
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences, and it is the form of electrical energy that consumers typically use when they plug kitchen appliances, televisions, fans and electric lamps into a wall socket. The abbreviations AC and DC are often used to mean simply alternating and direct, respectively, as when they modify current or voltage.
Mains electricity or utility power, grid power, domestic power, and wall power, or, in some parts of Canada, hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to homes and businesses through the electrical grid in many parts of the world. People use this electricity to power everyday items by plugging them into a wall outlet.
In electrical engineering, single-phase electric power is the distribution of alternating current electric power using a system in which all the voltages of the supply vary in unison. Single-phase distribution is used when loads are mostly lighting and heating, with few large electric motors. A single-phase supply connected to an alternating current electric motor does not produce a rotating magnetic field; single-phase motors need additional circuits for starting, and such motors are uncommon above 10 kW in rating.
Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives, electric multiple units or both. Electricity is typically generated in large and relatively efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network and distributed to the trains. Some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines, but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway usually provides its own distribution lines, switches, and transformers.
In electrical engineering, power conversion is the process of converting electric energy from one form to another.
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a lattice tower made of steel that is used to support an overhead power line. In electrical grids, transmission towers carry high-voltage transmission lines that transport bulk electric power from generating stations to electrical substations, from which electricity is delivered to end consumers; moreover, utility poles are used to support lower-voltage sub-transmission and distribution lines that transport electricity from substations to electricity customers.
A traction network or traction power network is an electricity grid for the supply of electrified rail networks. The installation of a separate traction network generally is done only if the railway in question uses alternating current (AC) with a frequency lower than that of the national grid, such as in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
A traction substation, traction current converter plant, rectifier station or traction power substation (TPSS) is an electrical substation that converts electric power from the form provided by the electrical power industry for public utility service to an appropriate voltage, current type and frequency to supply railways, trams (streetcars) or trolleybuses with traction current.
A traction power station is a power station that produces only traction current, that is, electric current used for railways, trams, trolleybuses or other conveyances. Pure traction power stations are rare and there are many more power stations that generate current for other purposes, such as standard three-phase alternating current (AC), in addition to traction current.
Railway electrification using alternating current (AC) at 15 kilovolts (kV) and 16.7 hertz (Hz) are used on transport railways in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway. The high voltage enables high power transmission with the lower frequency reducing the losses of the traction motors that were available at the beginning of the 20th century. Railway electrification in late 20th century tends to use 25 kV, 50 Hz AC systems which has become the preferred standard for new railway electrifications but extensions of the existing 15 kV networks are not completely unlikely. In particular, the Gotthard Base Tunnel still uses 15 kV, 16.7 Hz electrification.
This is an alphabetical list of articles pertaining specifically to electrical and electronics engineering. For a thematic list, please see List of electrical engineering topics. For a broad overview of engineering, see List of engineering topics. For biographies, see List of engineers.
For servicing suburban commuter lines, electrified on 25 kV, AC, the Railcar Manufacturing Plant of Riga produced ER9, then ER9P and other modifications of electric trainsets in the 1962-2002 period. The mass production of these trains had begun in 1964.
Obrigheim Nuclear Power Plant (KWO) is a nuclear power plant currently in the decommissioning phase. The plant is located in Obrigheim, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, on the banks of the Neckar and owned by EnBW. It operated a pressurized water reactor unit from 1969 to 2005. The defuelling process was completed in 2007, with spent fuel rods awaiting transport to an interim storage facility. In March 2017, EnBW tested the shipment of numerous castors by a barge on the Neckar to Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant.
GKK Etzenricht, an abbreviation of Gleichstromkurzkupplung Etzenricht, meaning Etzenricht HVDC-back-to-back station, was an HVDC back-to-back facility near Etzenricht in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany. It was built on the site of the Etzenricht substation, a 380 kV/220 kV/110 kV-substation, which went into service in 1970 and expanded afterwards several times. The facility was used between 1993 and 1995 for the exchange of power between Germany and the Czech Republic, operated by Bayernwerk AG.
Electric power transmission, the tools and means of moving electricity far from where it is generated, date back to the late 19th century. They include the movement of electricity in bulk and the delivery of electricity to individual customers ("distribution"). In the beginning, the two terms were used interchangeably.
The GK Dürnrohr was a high-voltage direct current back-to-back scheme west of Dürnrohr substation, which was used for the energy exchange between Austria and Czechoslovakia between 1983 and 1996. The installation is no longer in use.
Amtrak's 25 Hz traction power system is a traction power network for the southern portion of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), the Keystone Corridor, and several branch lines between New York City and Washington D.C. The system was constructed by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1915 and 1938 before the North American power transmission grid was fully established. This is the reason the system uses 25 Hz, as opposed to 60 Hz, which is the standard frequency for power transmission in North America. The system is also known as the Southend Electrification, in contrast to Amtrak's 60 Hz traction power system that runs between Boston and New Haven, which is known as the Northend Electrification system.
Germany's electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. In 2020, due to COVID-19 conditions and strong winds, Germany produced 484 TW⋅h of electricity of which over 50% was from renewable energy sources, 24% from coal, and 12% from natural gas, this amounting to 36% from fossil fuel. This is the first year renewables represented more than 50% of the total electricity production and a major change from 2018, when a full 38% was from coal, only 40% was from renewable energy sources, and 8% was from natural gas.
Single-phase generator is an alternating current electrical generator that produces a single, continuously alternating voltage. Single-phase generators can be used to generate power in single-phase electric power systems. However, polyphase generators are generally used to deliver power in three-phase distribution system and the current is converted to single-phase near the single-phase loads instead. Therefore, single-phase generators are found in applications that are most often used when the loads being driven are relatively light, and not connected to a three-phase distribution, for instance, portable engine-generators. Larger single-phase generators are also used in special applications such as single-phase traction power for railway electrification systems.