Niederaichbach Nuclear Power Plant
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| Niederaichbach Nuclear Power Station | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Reactor building (far right) during decommissioning | |
 | |
| Official name | Kernkraftwerk Niederaichbach |
| Country | Germany |
| Location | Niederaichbach |
| Coordinates | 48°36′17″N 12°18′14″E / 48.60472°N 12.30389°E |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Construction began | June 1, 1966 |
| Commission date | January 1, 1973 |
| Decommission date | July 21, 1974 |
| Construction cost | 230,000,000 DM |
| Owner | Karlsruhe Institute of Technology |
| Operator | Kernkraftwerk Niederaichbach GMBH |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactors | 1 x 106 MWe |
| Reactor type | Heavy Water Gas Cooled Reactor |
| Thermal capacity | 321 MWt |
| Power generation | |
| Capacity factor | 1.1% |
Niederaichbach Nuclear Power Plant (German: Kernkraftwerk Niederaichbach (KKN)) was a German nuclear plant in Niederaichbach, Bavaria. The plant consisted of one heavy water gas cooled (HWGC) reactor with a gross capacity of 106 MWe. Safety and maintenance issues caused the reactor to be decommissioned after only a year and a half in operation. It was the first nuclear plant in Europe to be completely decommissioned, with the final work being completed in autumn 1995.[1]
Although located at the same location as the Isar Nuclear Power Plant, the Niederaichbach plant used a different reactor type and was decommissioned five years before construction of the Isar plant was completed.
In the late 1950s the government of Bavaria became interested in developing nuclear power within the state. Construction began in 1966. Only a year later, Hans Matthöfer, German Minister of Education and Technology, remarked that the project had "No technological future", due to the limitations of its experimental HWGC reactor.[2] Nevertheless, construction continued, with others in the Bavarian government hopeful that its construction and operation would provide much needed technological and operational experience.
Construction was completed in 1972 at the cost of 230 million Deutsche Marks. It began operation in 1973, but struggled to produce anywhere close to its capacity. After problems with the steam turbines in mid-1974 the reactor was taken offline and decommissioned.[3] In its year and a half of operation it generated only 20,000 MWh of energy, equivalent to just 18 days of full capacity operation or a capacity factor of just 1.1%.[2][4]
