Construction stop on the Stendal nuclear power plant: How Chernobyl ruined the plans!

Construction stop on the Stendal nuclear power plant: How Chernobyl ruined the plans!

The cessation of construction of the Stendal nuclear power plant remains a central point in the energy history of the former GDR and has left its mark to this day. On July 14, 1990, a halt to construction was called for after the catastrophic reactor accident in Chernobyl reignited fears about nuclear energy. Negative reactions to the “Soviet design” shaped public opinion and led to a quicker abandonment of nuclear projects. According to Bayerischer Rundfunk, the project, which was always considered ambitious, was intended to supply 20% of GDR households with nuclear power.

The construction site of the Stendal nuclear power plant, located 15 km northeast of Stendal in the small village of Niedergörne, was once the largest construction site in Europe and extended over an area equivalent to 630 football fields - a huge dimension! Up to 10,000 workers were employed on site while cooling towers transformed the landscape into a futuristic image.

The missed potential

The project began on August 1, 1974, and despite the ambitious plans to build the four reactors with a total capacity of 4000 MW, the final verdict on the nuclear power plant was made on March 1, 1991, when work was stopped. The total costs of the project had now increased from the original 10 billion Ostmarks to an estimated 20 billion Ostmarks. Therefore, the project not only required massive infrastructural support - 14,000 apartments, schools and a new railway connection were created - but also comprehensive planning, which had to be revised after the reactor accident in Harrisburg. Wikipedia highlights that this all solidified into a worrying picture.

Instead of a functioning power plant, the construction freeze left behind a ruin from which only a few companies - including a pulp mill and a biomethane refinery - benefited. The facilities have now found their place on the former nuclear power plant site, while the rest has degenerated into a desert.

A look at the past

However, the political landscape of the GDR did not only have to deal with the question of energy supply. Memories of the past scratch the surface of progress. MDR reports that an agreement with the USSR launched the atomic energy program in the GDR as early as 1955 - a turnaround that was ultimately only partially successful. Of the 20 nuclear power plants originally aimed for by 1970, only two were built and were unable to make a significant contribution to the energy supply.

The challenges that led to deficiencies in the quality and training of staff are now part of history. The secret documentation of the deficiencies revealed the existence of serious problems that led to a gradual loss of trust in nuclear policy.

Today, the site of the Stendal nuclear power plant not only remains a memorial to failed energy projects, but also symbolizes the change and challenges of German energy policy. The construction freeze is more than a date – it is part of a narrative about safety, responsibility and the search for a sustainable path into the future.