Grafenrheinfeld gets and extra month 7 May 2015 7 May 2015



E.On has announced that its Grafenrheinfeld nuclear plant, a 1345MW pressurised water reactor in Bavaria, southeastern Germany, will operate until the second half of June before being permanently shut down.

Under Germany's nuclear phase-out law the reactor is required to close on 31 December 2015. However, plant owner E.On decided last year to decommission the reactor in May 2015, rather than refuel, on the basis it could not recoup the costs of a nuclear fuel tax before the closure deadline.

Now, because of the "high residual availability" of nuclear fuel left after the winter, E.On says it will continue operations at Grafenrheinfeld until the second half of June 2015, and then retire it from the grid.

Grafenrheinfeld, which has generated some 329TWh of electricity over its lifetime, will be just 33 years old when it is permanently shut down.