8 Feb (NucNet): Hannover-based nuclear operator PreussenElektra has received a licence to decommission and dismantle the single-unit Unterweser nuclear power station near Nordenham in Lower Saxony, north Germany, a statement by the company said.
The licence was issued by the Lower Saxony ministry of the environment, energy, construction and climate protection, the statement said. PreussenElektra submitted the application for the licence in May 2012.
PreussenElektra said it plans to begin dismantling work later this month.
Unterweser, a 1345-MW pressurised water reactor unit, will become the second of PreussenElektra's units shut down in 2011 to be approved for decommissioning. The first, Isar-1, obtained this license in January 2017.
Three of the eight nuclear power units owned by PreussenElektra are now under decommissioning. Isar-1 and Unterweser are at the initial stage, while the decommissioning of the single-unit Stade nuclear power station is “well advanced” and should be finished in approximately four years, according to PreussenElektra. Decommissioning of the single-unit Würgassen was completed in 2014, PreussenElektra said.
PreussenElektra’s Brokdorf, Grohnde and Isar-2 nuclear power units are still in commercial operation.
Isar-1 and Unterweser were shut down in 2011 and Grafenrheinfeld in 2015. Stade and Würgassen were shut down in 2003 and 1994.
