Neckarwestheim nuclear power station: Block II off the grid for annual revision

Karlsruhe/Neckarwestheim. Block II of the Neckarwestheim nuclear power station (GKN II) was disconnected from the grid last Saturday to carry out a scheduled annual revision. Testing and maintenance work in the station will be carried out during the revision, various technical projects implemented and the fuel elements replaced.

"Safe operation of our nuclear power stations is given top priority. This is shown again by this year's revision where high investments in the inspection, maintenance and renewal of components are made," explains Christoph Heil, Technical Director of Neckarwestheim nuclear power station.

Around 1,200 additional specialists support revision work

The range of work for the revision consists of around 3,000 individual tasks in total, some of which are only possible with the facility shut down. "The main focuses of this year's revision are an inspection of the generator, tests on the reactor pressure tank and modernisation measures on the control technology for cooling tower components," reports Gerd-Josef Engel, Manager Block II. The Neckarwestheim nuclear power station revision team will be supported by around 1,200 additional employees from manufacturing and specialised companies for implementation of the programme. The revision work will be supervised by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management and will be accompanied by ministry auditors from TÜV and KeTAG (Baden-Württemberg auditors consortium for nuclear technology).

Block II of the Neckarwestheim nuclear power station is a pressurised water reactor with an electrical output of 1,400 megawatts. The facility went into operation in 1989 and produced more than 11 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in the year 2011.