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

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

Niedergörne, Deutschland - The construction stop 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. The construction stop was requested on July 14, 1990 after the catastrophic reactor accident in Chernobyl re -sparked the fears of atomic energy. Negative reactions to the "Soviet type" shaped public opinion and led to a faster departure of nuclear projects. According to Bayerischer Rundfunk, the project, which is always considered ambitious, should supply 20 % of the 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 that corresponded to 630 football fields - a huge dimension! Up to 10,000 workers were employed on site, while cooling towers turned the landscape into a futuristic picture.

The missed potential

The start of the project dates to August 1, 1974, and despite the ambitious plans to build the four reactors with a total capacity of 4000 MW, the final judgment on the nuclear power plant was already discontinued on March 1, 1991. In the meantime, the total cost of the project had increased from an estimated 20 billion Eastern Mark from originally 10 billion Eastern Mark. Therefore, the project was not only required for massive infrastructural support - 14,000 apartments, schools and a new rail connection were created - but also a comprehensive planning that had to be revised in Harrisburg according to the reactor shark. Wikipedia emphasizes that all of this was solidified in a worrying picture.

Instead of a functioning power plant, the construction stop left a ruin from which only a few companies - including a pulp work and a biomethane refinery - benefited. The facilities have found their place on the former KKW site today, while the rest of the desert egg has deteriorated.

A look at the past

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 was already launching the atomic energy program in the GDR in 1955-a change that was ultimately only successful. Of the originally desired 20 nuclear power plants by 1970, only two were realized that could not make a significant contribution to energy supply.

The challenges that led to defects in the quality and training of the staff are now part of the history. The secret documentation about the shortcomings exposed the existence of serious problems, which led to a gradual loss of trust in nuclear policy.

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