Energy policy is, within the Federal Government, the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie - BMWi). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit – BMUB) is responsible for environmental policy within the Federal Government.

The major aim of energy policy is an affordable, secure and environmentally friendly energy supply. This aim shall be reached through energy transition. It is planned to produce energy on a sustainable basis and to make Germany one of the most energy-efficient and environmentally compatible economies in the world. The energy transition includes the following steps:

• The last German nuclear power plant (NPP) will be taken off-stream in 2022.

• A greater share of renewable energy shall be used – according to the energy concept 60% of the energy supply and 80% of electricity should be generated by renewables by 2050.

• Germany shall become less dependent on oil and gas imports.

• The emissions of greenhouse gases, which are harmful to the environment, shall be reduced by 80 to 95 per cent by 2050.

• Energy needs shall be reduced by more economical and efficient use.

• The restructuring of the energy supply shall be a driver of innovation for Germany as an industrial base in order to generate growth and create sustainable and secure jobs.

In 2000, the Federal Government and the energy utilities agreed to phase out nuclear energy use for commercial power generation, and the Atomic Energy Act was amended accordingly in 2002. A legal ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants was fixed. Each nuclear power plant was assigned a residual electricity volume such that the total output of the respective plant corresponds to an average 32-year lifetime. As electricity volumes can, in principle, be legally transferred between plants, it was not possible to forecast precise shut-down dates. In 2011, in the light of the accident at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP), final shutdown dates for all operating German NPPs have been fixed (for more details see chapter 2.1.1).

To meet the challenges of the energy transition the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy has launched a 10-Point Energy Agenda (see http://www.bmwi.de/EN/Topics/Energy/Energy-Transition/overall-strategy.html).

See Table 1

Table 1: ESTIMATED AVAILABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN 2014

	Estimated available energy sources 2014
	Fossil Fuels			Nuclear	Renewables
	Solid2)	Liquid2)	Gas2)	Uranium	Hydro	Other renewable
Total amount in specific units1)	159 790	1463)	1 949	0.007
Total amount in Exajoule (EJ)	3 192	6.1	73.9	3.5	0.44)	n.d.5)

¹⁾ Solid, Liquid: Million tons, Gas: Billion m³; Uranium: Million metric tons, Hydro, Renewables: TW

²⁾ Remaining potential including reserves (proven volumes of energy resources economically exploitable at today’s prices and using today’s technology) and resources (proven amounts of energy resources which cannot currently be exploited for technical and/or economic reasons, as well as unproven but geologically possible energy resources which may be exploitable in future).

³⁾ Including 95 Mt shale oil resources identified in 2012.

⁴⁾ Gross theoretical capability per year; about 0.09 EJ/a corresponds to the technically exploitable capability.

⁵⁾ n.d.: not determined

Source: Country Information [2] and World Energy Council.

See Table 2

Table 2: ENERGY STATISTICS

								Compound annual growth rate (%)
	19701) 6)	19801)	1991	2000	2005	2010	20147)	2000 to 2014
Energy consumption2) (EJ)
- Total	9.87 (3.06)	11.35 (3.54)	14.61	14.40	14.56	14.22	13.13	- 0.66
- Solids3)	3.73 (2.60)	3.41 (2.48)	4.84	3.57	3.40	3.23	3.30	- 0.56
- Liquids	5.24 (0.41)	5.44 (0.62)	5.53	5.50	5.17	4.68	4.52	- 1.39
- Gases	0.53 (0.02)	1.86 (0.30)	2.41	2.99	3.25	3.17	2.67	- 0.81
- Nuclear	0.06 (0.01)	0.48 (0.13)	1.61	1.85	1.78	1.53	1.06	- 3.90
- Hydro	0.25 (0.01)	0.06 (0.00)	0.05	0.09	0.07	0.08	0.07	- 1.78
- Wind	–	–	–	0.04	0.10	0.14	0.21	+ 12.57
- Others4)	0.06 (0.01)	0.10 (0.01)	0.18	0.36	0.79	1.39	1.31	+ 9.67
Energy production (EJ)
- Total	5.15 (2.43)	5.11 (2.55)	6.97	5.64	5.88	5.69	5.05	- 0.79
- Solids3)	4.13 (2.37)	3.70 (2.30)	4.44	2.54	2.37	1.92	1.85	- 2.24
- Liquids	0.32 (0.01)	0.20 (0.00)	0.15	0.13	0.15	0.11	0.10	- 1.86
- Gases	0.41 (0.02)	0.59 (0.11)	0.57	0.65	0.60	0.46	0.33	- 4.73
- Nuclear5)	0.06 (0.01)	0.48 (0.13)	1.61	1.85	1.78	1.53	1.06	- 3.90
- Hydro	0.17 (0.01)	0.06 (0.00)	0.05	0.08	0.07	0.08	0.07	- 0.95
- Wind	–	–	0.00	0.03	0.10	0.14	0.21	+ 14.91
- Others4)	0.06 (0.01)	0.10 (0.01)	0.15	0.35	0.81	1.45	1.43	+ 10.58
Net import (Import - Export) (EJ)
- Total	4.72 (0.63)	6.24 (0.99)	7.64	8.76	8.68	8.53	8.08	- 0.58

¹⁾ Numbers refer to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) before reunification in 1990; numbers in parentheses refer to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany).

²⁾ Energy consumption = Primary energy production + Net import (Import-Export) of secondary energy³⁾ Solid fuels include coal and lignite⁴⁾ Others are e.g. firewood, bio solids, waste, geothermal, etc.

⁵⁾ Nuclear considered as imported energy in national energy balance.⁶⁾ Data from 1970 according to substitution method, later data according to efficiency method

⁷⁾ Preliminary dataSource: Country Information [3].

German electricity policy is based on three fundamental objectives: sustainability, security of supply, and economic efficiency. The main challenge will be the integration of an increasing number of plants generating electricity from renewable sources, including a large number of offshore wind farms in the Baltic and North Sea. Consequently, the German electricity grid and the electricity market are facing new challenges.

Since 1998, Germany has been continuing the process of liberalising its electricity market. Currently, all customers are free to choose their own suppliers.

The Energy Industry Act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz), together with secondary legislation enacted under it, specifies the regulatory framework governing grid access and transmission fees for electricity and gas. The objective is to provide the public with a secure, affordable, consumer-friendly, efficient and environmentally sound supply of grid electricity and gas. Enforcement lies with the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), which regulates electricity, gas, telecommunications, postal and railway networks spanning two or more federal states and network operators with more than 100,000 customers. Network operators with fewer than 100,000 customers are regulated by regulatory agencies in the individual German federal states. The main features of the legal framework relate to network access and transit fees, and separating network operation from companies' other activities. The network regulator, a public agency under the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, has a clear legal mandate to keep down transit fees while assuring security of supply. Grid operators are required to operate a secure, reliable, high-capacity energy supply network, to maintain this network and to expand it in line with demand.

Generation

As at 10 November 2015, there are electricity generating facilities with a net rating around 199.2 GW. Of this net rating, renewable energy sources account for about 94 percent, of which about 39 percent is from solar and about 42 percent from wind power. The installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind power units together already adds up to around 85 GW. However, this capacity is not the same as the output available on the electricity market to meet demand and to ensure a reliable supply at any given time, as the latter depends on the weather conditions. Almost only conventional power plant plants can be relied on to guarantee supply at all times. In the year 2015, conventional power plants produced about 74.2 percent of the electricity in Germany.

At the end of 2014, the electricity generating facilities in Germany accounted for a total net rating of 202.7 GW. About half of the total installed capacity utilizes renewable energy sources, mainly wind (39.2 GW) and photovoltaics (38.3 GW). As renewable power is volatile due to their dependence on weather conditions, the peak electricity demand of about 80 GW is matched mainly by conventional power plants to provide a reliable supply. In 2015, 30.1 % (preliminary data) of the electricity was provided by renewable energy sources with the main contribution from wind power (13.5 percentage points).

Though demand for electricity is forecast to remain relatively flat, construction projects for power plants using conventional fuels and for those using renewables are currently in the planning, preparation or building phase in order to replace existing plants, particularly nuclear plants, slated for closure.

Transmission

Germany's transmission grid is well interconnected and consists of about 35,000 km of extra-high-voltage (220 or 380 kV), 77,000 km of high-voltage (> 60 to < 220 kV), 479,000 km of medium-voltage (6 to 60 kV) and 1,123,000 km of low-voltage (230 or 700 V) transmission lines. In the past, the four companies dominating electricity generation each owned their own transmission companies operating the extra-high-voltage transmission lines. Now, the transmission companies are legally unbundled companies (TenneT TSO GmbH, Amprion GmbH, TransnetBW GmbH and 50Hertz Transmission GmbH). They provide non-discriminatory third-party access to their networks for all generators. All decisions on grid access and access fees can be appealed to the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) or to the respective regional regulator (Länderregulierungsbehörde). Grid fees, which cover transmission operations and investments, are charged to distributor companies, which pass them on to the end-use customers via retail rates. Transmission system operators charge distribution companies via a "postage stamp" rate, at a single flat rate per kW of maximum demand.

Under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz – EEG), grid system operators are required to connect plants generating electricity from renewable sources to their system at standard rates and to guarantee priority feed-in and transmission of electricity to such plants.

The extension of renewables, intensified transboundary power trading and new conventional power plants are the main reasons for the plans to modernize the existing transmission grid and to build up new extra-high-voltage transmission lines.

Germany's grid is linked to its neighbours' power grids via cross-border connections. The interconnection capacity is equivalent to about 15% of total capacity. Electricity is physically exchanged with nine neighbouring countries, i.e. Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden. In 2015, Germany exported around 85.2 TWh of electricity to its neighbours, while itself importing 33.5 TWh.

The transmission lines for lower voltages are used to distribute electricity to customers. In this part, various regional and municipal transmission companies are involved.

Distribution

There are about 900 distribution system operators in Germany. There is significant cross-ownership of distribution and retail in Germany's electricity sector through the country's many regional and local utilities, or Stadtwerke. The electricity generating companies, E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall, have stakes in a large percentage of Stadtwerke, but the National Competition Authority (Bundeskartellamt) has become more and more restrictive in its approval of such mergers.

See Table 3 and Table 4

The capacity of electrical plants and the electricity production as shown in Table 3 are reported as gross values.

Hard coal, lignite and nuclear power plants typically run with a maximum number of operating hours. They provide about 60% of the total electricity consumption. Gas power and pump-storage facilities are used additionally.



Table 3: ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION AND CAPACITY

								Compound annual growth rate (%)
	19701)	19801)	1991	2000	2005	2010	20144)	2000 to 2014
Capacity of electrical plants (GWe)
- Thermal2)	42.0 (11.3)	67.5 (16.5)	92.2	83.8	77.5	82.6	87.6	+ 0.34
- Nuclear	0.9 (0.1)	8.7 (1.7)	23.7	23.6	21.4	21.5	12.7	- 4.33
- Hydro3)	4.7 (0.7)	6.5 (1.5)	8.7	9.0	10.2	10.4	10.3	+ 0.97
- Wind	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.1	6.1	18.4	27.2	39.2	+ 14.21
- Photovoltaics	–	–	0.002	0.076	2.1	17.9	38.2	+ 55.94
- Others	–	–	1.4	2.8	7.4	11.3	14.6	+ 12.52
- Total	47.6 (12.1)	82.7 (19.7)	126.1	125.5	136.9	170.8	202.5	+ 3.44
Electricity production (TWh)
- Thermal2)	218.8 (65.9)	306.4 (85.3)	359.2	346.5	372.9	360.9	341.2	- 0.11
- Nuclear	2.7 (0.5)	41.4 (11.9)	147.4	169.6	163.0	140.6	97.1	- 3.91
- Hydro	16.2 (1.3)	17.4 (1.7)	19.2	29.4	26.4	27.4	25.4	- 0.93
- Wind	0.0	0.0	0.1	9.5	27.2	37.8	57.4	+ 13.75
- Photovoltaics	–	–	–	0	1.3	11.7	36.1	+ 149.44
- Others	–	–	14.3	21.5	31.7	54.7	70.6	+ 8.86
- Total	237.7 (67.7)	365.2 (98.9)	540.2	576.6	622.6	633.1	627.8	+ 0.61
Electricity consumption (TWh)
- Total			539.6	579.6	614.1	615.4	592.2	+ 0.15

¹⁾ Numbers refer to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) before reunification in 1990; numbers in parentheses refer to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany).

²⁾ Thermal includes hard coal, lignite, gas and oil, pump-storage facilities and other.

³⁾ Water mills and storage plants

⁴⁾ Preliminary dataSource: Country Information [3].

Table 4: ENERGY RELATED RATIOS

	19701)	19801)	1991	2000	2005	2010	20143)
Energy consumption per capita (GJ/capita)	162 (179)	184 (212)	183	175	177	174	162
Electricity consumption per capita (kWh/capita)			6720	7043	7451	7522	7293
Electricity production/Energy production (%)	17 (10)	26 (14)	28	37	38	40	55
Nuclear/Total electricity (%)	1.1 (0.7)	11.3 (12.0)	27.3	29.4	26.2	22.2	15.5
Ratio of external dependency2) (%)	48 (21)	55 (28)	51	61	60	60	61.5

¹⁾ Numbers refer to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) before reunification in 1990; numbers in parentheses refer to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany).

²⁾ Net import / Total energy consumption

³⁾ Preliminary data

Source: Country Information.

In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany, i.e. West Germany, officially renounced the production, possession or use of nuclear weapons. Research and development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes began. Based on extensive international co-operation, several prototype reactors were constructed, concepts for a closed nuclear fuel cycle and for the final storage of radioactive waste in deep geological formations were elaborated.

From 1956 to 1969, several nuclear research centres were founded in West Germany. Most of these research centres, as well as university institutes were equipped with research reactors.

With the assistance of US manufacturers, West Germany started to develop commercial nuclear power plants (Siemens/Westinghouse for pressurized water reactors - PWRs, General Electric/AEG for boiling water reactors - BWRs). In 1958, the first West German NPP - a 16 MWe experimental nuclear power plant (Versuchsatomkraftwerk Kahl, VAK) - was ordered from GE/AEG and reached criticality in 1960. Domestic West German nuclear development began in 1961, with the order of the 15 MWe pebble-bed high-temperature reactor (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor at Jülich, AVR) from the Arbeitsgemeinschaft BBC/ Krupp (BBC - Brown, Boverie & Cie., meanwhile ABB - Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.). Power reactors with 250-350 MWe and 600-700 MWe were ordered between 1965 and 1970.

After about 15 years, the gap between the West German and the international technological state of the art was closed. The West German nuclear industry received the first orders from abroad, from the Netherlands (Borssele) and from Argentina (Atucha). In 1972, the construction of the world’s then largest reactor, Biblis A with 1200 MWe, started in West Germany. Between 1970 and 1975, an average of three units was ordered annually.

In 1969, Siemens and AEG founded Kraftwerk Union (KWU) by merging their respective nuclear activities. The domestic development of KWU nuclear power plants with PWRs started. Based on several years of operational experience, a standardized 1300 MWe PWR (the so-called "Konvoi") was introduced, mainly to speed up the licensing process. Three "Konvoi" units started to operate in 1988 and were the last NPPs built in West Germany.

The German Democratic Republic, i.e. East Germany, started to develop a nuclear programme for the peaceful use of nuclear energy with the assistance of the Soviet Union, in 1955. In 1956, the Central Institute for Nuclear Physics was founded at Rossendorf. There, in 1957, a research reactor supplied by the Soviet Union started operation. The first East German 70 MWe NPP Rheinsberg, equipped with a Russian type PWR, was connected to the grid in 1966. Between 1974 and 1979, the Greifswald NPP units 1 to 4 started operation, all equipped with Russian WWER-440/W-230 reactors. In 1989, unit 5, a WWER-440/W-213 reactor, was in the process of being commissioned.

Following German reunification in October 1990, comprehensive safety assessments of the Soviet type NPPs were carried out. These analyses showed safety deficiencies in comparison with the current West German nuclear safety requirements. For technical and economic reasons, in particular uncertainties in the licensing process and also decreasing electricity consumption, it was decided to shut these plants down. Work on the nuclear plants under construction (units 6, 7 and 8 at Greifswald with WWER-440/W-213 reactors and two WWER-1000 reactors near Stendal) was also abandoned.

Following the euphoria of the fifties and sixties, scepticism about nuclear power began to grow in the early 1970s. An increasing number of citizens were opposed to the risks of atomic energy, and in particular opposed the further expansion of nuclear power plants. In West Germany, names such as Wyhl and Brokdorf (planned nuclear power plants), Gorleben (waste management centre), Wackersdorf (reprocessing unit) and Kalkar (fast breeder) are a synonym for the protests against nuclear power. After the incident in Harrisburg in 1979, and finally after the Chernobyl accident in 1986, it became clear that the risks of nuclear power are not merely theoretical.

In 2000, the Government concluded an agreement with the electricity companies to phase out the utilisation of nuclear energy in a structured manner. The Atomic Energy Act was amended accordingly in April 2002. The legal ban on the construction of new NPPs was fixed. Each nuclear power plant was assigned a residual electricity volume such that the total output of the respective plant corresponds to an average 32-year lifetime. As electricity volumes can, in principle, be legally transferred between plants, it was not possible to forecast precise shut-down dates.

Since 2010, the Federal Government has been focusing on an energy mix, gradually replacing the conventional sources of energy with renewable energies. For a transitional period, nuclear energy should remain an indispensable part of the energy mix. The Atomic Energy Act was amended accordingly in December 2010. The legal ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants remained unchanged. The operating lives of the 17 nuclear power plants, determined by the amount of electricity allowed for production, were extended by granting further electricity production rights grossly equalling an additional 12 years, on average. The extension was converted into volumes of electricity for each plant on the basis of exact calculation.

After the accident at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi NPP on 11 March 2011, the German Federal Government, together with the Minister-Presidents of the Länder in which NPPs are operated, had the safety of all German NPPs reviewed by the Reactor Safety Commission (Reaktor-Sicherheitskommission - RSK) in close collaboration with the competent nuclear regulatory authorities of the Länder. Through an Ethics Commission on “Secure Energy Supply”, they also started a dialogue among German society on the risks involved in the use of nuclear power and on the possibility of an accelerated transition to the age of renewable energies.

Taking the results of the RSK and the Ethics Commission on “Secure Energy Supply” as well as the absolute priority of nuclear safety into account, the Federal Government decided to terminate the use of nuclear energy by the year 2022. The amendments to the Atomic Energy Act entered into force in August 2011. According to them, the authorization to operate an installation for the fission of nuclear fuel for the commercial generation of electricity shall expire when its electricity production rights have been exhausted, but not later than the end of

• 6 August 2011 for Biblis A, Neckarwestheim 1, Biblis B, Brunsbüttel, Isar 1, Unterweser, Philippsburg 1 and Krümmel NPPs,

• 31 December 2015 for Grafenrheinfeld NPP,

• 31 December 2017 for Gundremmingen B NPP,

• 31 December 2019 for Philippsburg 2 NPP,

• 31 December 2021 for Grohnde, Gundremmingen C and Brokdorf NPPs,

• 31 December 2022 for Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 NPPs.

The additional electricity volumes, introduced in December 2010, were withdrawn, returning to the electricity volumes as stipulated in 2002. Production of unused electricity volumes transferred from one NPP to another remains possible until the shutdown date for the receiving NPP has been reached.

The organizations of the regulatory body are shown in Figure 1.

The regulatory body is composed of the nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities of the Federal Government authorities and Länder government authorities.

By organisational decree, the Federal Government specifies the Federal Ministry competent for nuclear safety and radiation protection. Currently, this competence is assigned to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit – BMUB).

The licensing procedure and the continuous regulatory supervision of the facilities lie within the responsibility of the individual Länder (federal states), see Table 4A. To preserve legal uniformity for the entire territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety - BMUB oversees the licensing and supervisory activities of the Länder authorities regarding legality and expediency. [6].

The subordinate authority to the BMUB in the area of radiation protection and nuclear safety is the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz – BfS). The BfS supports the BMUB technically and scientifically, especially in the execution of oversight with regard to legality and expediency, the preparation of legal and administrative procedures, and in intergovernmental co-operation.

As subordinate authority to the BMUB the Federal Office for the Regulation of Nuclear Waste Management (Bundesamt für kerntechnische Entsorgung – BfE) nuclear regulates the site selection process for a final repository particularly for high-level radioactive waste and supports the BMUB in its activities pertaining to the final disposal of radioactive waste.

The BMUB receives regular advisory support from the Reactor Safety Commission (Reaktor-Sicherheitskommission - RSK), the Commission on Radiological Protection (Strahlenschutzkommission - SSK) and the Nuclear Waste Management Commission (Entsorgungskommission - ESK). The commissions are independent and their members reflect the whole spectrum of scientific and technical opinions. Besides advising the BMUB on issues of fundamental importance, they also initiate developments directed at furthering safety technology. The results of the deliberations of the commissions are formulated as general recommendations to the BMUB and as statements on individual cases, which are then published.

The main expert organisation advising the BMUB on technical issues is the Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS). This central expert organisation performs scientific research in the field of nuclear safety technology, predominately sponsored by federal funds. GRS also performs a limited amount of work by order of the licensing and supervisory authorities of the Länder.

Technical support organizations, e.g. Technical Inspection Agencies (Technischer Überwachungs-Verein - TÜV) act on behalf of the Länder authorities. The involvement of authorized experts is based on special technical knowledge and independence. The authorities are not bound by the authorised experts’ evaluation results in making their decision.

FIGURE 1: ORGANISATION OF THE REGULATORY BODY



Table 4A: THE LÄNDER LICENSING AND SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES FOR NPPS

Land	Nuclear Installation	Licensing Authority	Supervisory Authority
Baden-Württemberg	Neckarwestheim 1 Neckarwestheim 2 Philippsburg 1 Philippsburg 2	Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector of Baden-Württemberg in agreement with the Ministry of the Interior of Baden Württemberg	Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector of Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria	Isar 1 Isar 2 Grafenrheinfeld Gundremmingen B Gundremmingen C	Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection	Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection
Hesse	Biblis A Biblis B	Hesse Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection
Lower Saxony	Unterweser Grohnde Emsland	Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection
Schleswig-Holstein	Brunsbüttel Krümmel Brokdorf	Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas

Before the accident in Fukushima, a total gross capacity of 21.5 GWe was installed in the 17 operating German nuclear power plants, comprising 11 PWRs and 6 BWRs. On 6 August 2011, for eight NPPs with a gross capacity of 8,821 MWe the licence for power operation expired (Biblis A, Neckarwestheim 1, Biblis B, Brunsbüttel, Isar 1, Unterweser, Philippsburg 1 and Krümmel). On 27 June 2015, the NPP Grafenrheinfeld ended its operation. Since then, eight NPPs (six PWRs and two BWRs) are in operation. Table 5 shows the status of nuclear power plants by the end of 2015, Figure 2 their geographical location.

According to the current legal situation, the licence for power operation will expire at fixed shutdown dates or even before if the electricity volume for that installation, as listed in the Atomic Energy Act or as derived from an allowable transfer of electricity volume, has been produced. Table 6 shows the residual electricity volumes of the German NPPs as of 31 December 2015.

In 2015, NPPs contributed approximately 14.1% to the gross electricity production, which corresponds to 91.8 TWh. The average availability of German nuclear power plants is shown in Table 7.

As of December 2015, 28 nuclear power plants including prototype and experimental reactors have been permanently shut down. Of these, 15 facilities are currently being dismantled with "green-field conditions" being the planned target, one is in safe enclosure and three have already been completely dismantled to green-field conditions. Further information (shut down date and reason etc.) is shown in Table 10. The eight NPPs that lost their authorization for power operation in August 2011 applied for decommissioning, but no licence for decommissioning has been granted as of yet. Six other nuclear power plants never commenced operation as the projects were abandoned during the construction phase.

In total, 46 research and training reactors were built and operated in Germany. At present, most research reactors are shut down or being decommissioned. Seven research facilities – three with a thermal power of more than 50 kWth and four small training reactors – are still in operation.



Table 5: STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS (INCLUDING PROTOTYPE AND EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS) AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2015

Reactor Unit	Type	Net Capacity [MW(e)]	Status	Operator	Reactor Supplier	Construction Date	First Criticality Date	First Grid Date	Commercial Date	Shutdown Date	UCF for 2016
BROKDORF	PWR	1410	Operational	E.ON	KWU	1976-01-01	1986-10-08	1986-10-14	1986-12-22		93.1
EMSLAND	PWR	1335	Operational	KLE	KWU	1982-08-10	1988-04-14	1988-04-19	1988-06-20		94.1
GROHNDE	PWR	1360	Operational	KWG	KWU	1976-06-01	1984-09-01	1984-09-05	1985-02-01		73.1
GUNDREMMINGEN-B	BWR	1284	Operational	KGG	KWU	1976-07-20	1984-03-09	1984-03-16	1984-07-19		89.3
GUNDREMMINGEN-C	BWR	1288	Operational	KGG	KWU	1976-07-20	1984-10-26	1984-11-02	1985-01-18		85.5
ISAR-2	PWR	1410	Operational	E.ON	KWU	1982-09-15	1988-01-15	1988-01-22	1988-04-09		95.7
NECKARWESTHEIM-2	PWR	1310	Operational	EnKK	KWU	1982-11-09	1988-12-29	1989-01-03	1989-04-15		94.3
PHILIPPSBURG-2	PWR	1402	Operational	EnKK	KWU	1977-07-07	1984-12-13	1984-12-17	1985-04-18		82.2
AVR JUELICH	HTGR	13	Permanent Shutdown	AVR	BBK	1961-08-01	1966-08-16	1967-12-17	1969-05-19	1988-12-31
BIBLIS-A	PWR	1167	Permanent Shutdown	RWE	KWU	1970-01-01	1974-07-16	1974-08-25	1975-02-26	2011-08-06
BIBLIS-B	PWR	1240	Permanent Shutdown	RWE	KWU	1972-02-01	1976-03-25	1976-04-25	1977-01-31	2011-08-06
BRUNSBUETTEL	BWR	771	Permanent Shutdown	KKB	KWU	1970-04-15	1976-06-23	1976-07-13	1977-02-09	2011-08-06
GRAFENRHEINFELD	PWR	1275	Permanent Shutdown	E.ON	KWU	1975-01-01	1981-12-09	1981-12-30	1982-06-17	2015-06-27
GREIFSWALD-1	PWR	408	Permanent Shutdown	EWN	AtEE	1970-03-01	1973-12-15	1973-12-17	1974-07-12	1990-02-14
GREIFSWALD-2	PWR	408	Permanent Shutdown	EWN	AtEE	1970-03-01	1974-12-03	1974-12-23	1975-04-16	1990-02-14
GREIFSWALD-3	PWR	408	Permanent Shutdown	EWN	AtEE	1972-04-01	1977-10-16	1977-10-24	1978-05-01	1990-02-28
GREIFSWALD-4	PWR	408	Permanent Shutdown	EWN	AtEE	1972-04-01	1979-07-22	1979-09-03	1979-11-01	1990-07-22
GREIFSWALD-5	PWR	408	Permanent Shutdown	EWN	AtEE	1976-12-01	1989-03-26	1989-04-24	1989-11-01	1989-11-24
GUNDREMMINGEN-A	BWR	237	Permanent Shutdown	KGB	AEG,GE	1962-12-12	1966-08-14	1966-12-01	1967-04-12	1977-01-13
HDR GROSSWELZHEIM	BWR	25	Permanent Shutdown	HDR	AEG,KWU	1965-01-01	1969-10-14	1969-10-14	1970-08-02	1971-04-20
ISAR-1	BWR	878	Permanent Shutdown	E.ON	KWU	1972-05-01	1977-11-20	1977-12-03	1979-03-21	2011-08-06
KNK II	FBR	17	Permanent Shutdown	KBG	IA	1974-09-01	1977-10-10	1978-04-09	1979-03-03	1991-08-23
KRUEMMEL	BWR	1346	Permanent Shutdown	KKK	KWU	1974-04-05	1983-09-14	1983-09-28	1984-03-28	2011-08-06
LINGEN	BWR	183	Permanent Shutdown	KWL	AEG	1964-10-01	1968-01-31	1968-07-01	1968-10-01	1977-01-05
MUELHEIM-KAERLICH	PWR	1219	Permanent Shutdown	KGG	BBR	1975-01-15	1986-03-01	1986-03-14	1987-08-18	1988-09-09
MZFR	PHWR	52	Permanent Shutdown	KBG	SIEMENS	1961-12-01	1965-09-29	1966-03-09	1966-12-19	1984-05-03
NECKARWESTHEIM-1	PWR	785	Permanent Shutdown	EnKK	KWU	1972-02-01	1976-05-26	1976-06-03	1976-12-01	2011-08-06
NIEDERAICHBACH	HWGCR	100	Permanent Shutdown	KKN	SIEM,KWU	1966-06-01	1972-12-17	1973-01-01	1973-01-01	1974-07-31
OBRIGHEIM	PWR	340	Permanent Shutdown	EnBW	SIEM,KWU	1965-03-15	1968-09-22	1968-10-29	1969-03-31	2005-05-11
PHILIPPSBURG-1	BWR	890	Permanent Shutdown	EnKK	KWU	1970-10-01	1979-03-09	1979-05-05	1980-03-26	2011-08-06
RHEINSBERG	PWR	62	Permanent Shutdown	EWN	AtEE	1960-01-01	1966-03-01	1966-05-06	1966-10-11	1990-06-01
STADE	PWR	640	Permanent Shutdown	E.ON	KWU	1967-12-01	1972-01-08	1972-01-29	1972-05-19	2003-11-14
THTR-300	HTGR	296	Permanent Shutdown	HKG	HRB	1971-05-03	1983-09-13	1985-11-16	1987-06-01	1988-09-29
UNTERWESER	PWR	1345	Permanent Shutdown	E.ON	KWU	1972-07-01	1978-09-16	1978-09-29	1979-09-06	2011-08-06
VAK KAHL	BWR	15	Permanent Shutdown	VAK	GE,AEG	1958-07-01	1960-11-13	1961-06-17	1962-02-01	1985-11-25
WUERGASSEN	BWR	640	Permanent Shutdown	PE	AEG,KWU	1968-01-26	1971-10-20	1971-12-18	1975-11-11	1994-08-26
GREIFSWALD-6	PWR	408	Cancelled Constr.	EWN	AtEE	1976-12-01				1990-01-01
GREIFSWALD-7	PWR	408	Cancelled Constr.	EWN	AtEE	1978-12-01				1990-10-01
GREIFSWALD-8	PWR	408	Cancelled Constr.	EWN	AtEE	1978-12-01				1990-10-01
KALKAR	FBR	295	Cancelled Constr.	SBK	INB	1973-04-23				1991-03-20
STENDAL-1	PWR	900	Cancelled Constr.	EWN	AtEE	1982-12-01				1991-03-01
STENDAL-2	PWR	900	Cancelled Constr.	EWN	AtEE	1984-12-01				1991-03-01

Data source: IAEA - Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).

Note: Table 7 is completely generated from PRIS data to reflect the latest available information and may be more up to date than the text of the report.

Numbers indicate Gross Capacity [MWe], 12/2015

Source: Country Information [4]

FIGURE 2: NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN GERMANY (INCLUDING PROTOTYPE AND EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS) AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2015

Table 6: RESIDUAL ELECTRICITY VOLUMES OF GERMAN NPPS AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2015 [TWH]

NPP	Residual Electricity Volume as of 1 January 2000 (Annex 3 of the Atomic Energy Act)	Net Electricity Volume Produced 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2015	Transfer of Electricity Volumes	Residual Electricity Volumes 31 December 2015
Biblis A (KWB A)1)	62.00	64.59	4.79	2.20
Biblis B (KWB B)1)	81.46	81.74	8.10	7.82
Brokdorf (KBR)	217.88	176.48		41.40
Brunsbüttel (KKB)1)	47.67	36.67		11.00
Emsland (KKE)	230.07	175.05		55.02
Grafenrheinfeld (KKG)2)	150.03	150.28	0.50	0.25
Gundremmingen B (KRB B)	160.92	160.38	11.20	11.74
Gundremmingen C (KRB C)	168.35	159.28	2.00	11.07
Grohnde (KWG)	200.90	169.67		31.23
Isar 1 (KKI 1)1)	78.35	76.33		2.02
Isar 2 KKI 2)	231.21	182.18		49.03
Krümmel (KKK)1)	158.22	69.97		88.25
Mülheim-Kärlich (KMK) 3)	107.25	-	-18.00	89.25
Neckarwestheim 1 (GKN 1)1)	57.35	57.35		0.00
Neckarwestheim 2 (GKN 2)	236.04	168.06		67.98
Obrigheim (KWO)4)	8.70	14.20	5.50	0.00
Philippsburg 1 (KKP 1)1)	87.14	73.19	-5.50	8.45
Philippsburg 2 (KKP 1)	198.61	168.03		30.58
Stade (KKS) 5)	23.18	18.39	-4.79	0.00
Unterweser (KKU)1)	117.98	106.78	-3.80	7.40

¹⁾ On 6 August 2011, the authorization to operate the NPP for electricity production expired.

²⁾ The NPP Grafenrheinfeld was shut down in June 2015.

³⁾ The NPP Mülheim-Kärlich was shut down in September 1988. The electricity volume of the NPP Mülheim-Kärlich can be transferred to KKE, GKN2, KKI2, KBR, KRB-B, KRB-C.

⁴⁾ The NPP Obrigheim was shut down in May 2005.

⁵⁾ The NPP Stade was shut down in November 2003.

Source: Country Information [5].

Table 7: AVERAGE AVAILABILITY OF GERMAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Year	Time availability [%]	Energy availability [%]	Capacity availability [%]
20151)	91.8	91.2	82.2
2014	90.6	89.1	86.8
2013	89.2	88.7	87.2
2012	91.0	90.5	88.9
2011	82.1	81.9	68.2
2010	76.4	77.5	74.0
2005	88.8	88.0	86.3
2000	90.0	90.6	85.9

¹⁾ Preliminary data

Time availability: available operating time/calendar time

Energy availability: available energy/nominal energy

Capacity availability: energy generated/nominal energy

Source: Country Information [4].



TABLE 10: REACTORS IN DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS OR DECOMMISIONED AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2015

Reactor name	Shut down date	Shutdown reason	Decom. strategy	Current decom. phase		Current fuel management phase	Decom. licensee
				start	end
AVR Jülich (AVR)	31-Dec-1988	experimental program ended	dismantling	09-Mar-1994		interim storage at Jülich	Jülicher Entsorgungsgesellschaft für Nuklearanlagen mbH (JEN GmbH - part of EWN), former AVR GmbH
Greifswald-1 (KGR 1)	18-Dec-1990	safety concerns	dismantling	30-Jun-1995		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN)
Greifswald-2 (KGR 2)	14-Feb-1990	safety concerns	dismantling	30-Jun-1995		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN)
Greifswald-3 (KGR 3)	28-Feb-1990	safety concerns	dismantling	30-Jun-1995		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN)
Greifswald-4 (KGR 4)	02-Jun-1990	safety concerns	dismantling	30-Jun-1995		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN)
Greifswald-5 (KGR 5)	30-Nov-1989	economic	dismantling	30-Jun-1995		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN)
Gundremmingen-A (KRB-A)	13-Jan-1977	economic	dismantling	26-May-1983		reprocessing	Kernkraftwerk Gundremmingen GmbH
HDR Großwelzheim	20-Apr-1971	technical	dismantling	16-Feb-1983	15-Oct-1998	reprocessed in WAK	Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) former Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK)
KNK II	23-Aug-1991	experimental program ended	dismantling	26-Aug-1993		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Wiederaufbereitungsanlage Karlsruhe Rückbau- und Entsorgungs-GmbH (part of EWN)
Lingen (KWL)	05-Jan-1977	economic	dismantling	21-Dec-2015		transport to Sellafield (GB)	Kernkraftwerk Lingen GmbH
Mülheim-Kärlich (KMK)	09-Sep-1988	phase out regulation	dismantling	16-Jul-2004		reprocessed in La Hague (F)	RWE Power AG
MZFR	03-May-1984	experimental program ended	dismantling	17-Nov-1987		reprocessed in WAK	Wiederaufbereitungsanlage Karlsruhe Rückbau- und Entsorgungs-GmbH (part of EWN)
Niederaichbach (KKN)	31-Jul-1974	technical	dismantling	21-Oct-1975	17-Aug-1995	transported to Commissariat ŕ l'Energie Atomique	Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) former Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK)
Obrigheim (KWO)	11-May-2005	phase out regulation	dismantling	28-Aug-2008		dry interim storage is planned	EnBW Kernkraft GmbH (EnKK)
Rheinsberg (KKR)	01-Jun-1990	safety concerns	dismantling	28-Apr-1995		interim storage Zwischenlager Nord (ZLN)	Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN)
Stade (KKS)	14-Nov-2003	phase out regulation	dismantling	07-Sep-2005		reprocessed in France	E.ON Kernkraft GmbH
THTR-300	29-Sep-1988	economic, technical	safe enclosure	22-Oct-1993		interim storage at Ahaus	Hochtemperatur-Kernkraftwerk GmbH (HKG)
VAK Kahl	25-Nov-1985	experimental program ended	dismantling	05-May-1988	24-Sep-2010	reprocessed in WAK/ disposal in Sweden	Versuchsatomkraftwerk Kahl GmbH (VAK)
Würgassen (KWW)	26-Aug-1994	economic	dismantling	14-Apr-1997		reprocessed in La Hague (F)	E.ON Kernkraft GmbH

Source: Country Information [4].



According to the Atomic Energy Act, a licence for operating a NPP is only granted if the applicant proves that the necessary technical and organisational precautions for a safe operation have been taken. During operation, the plant operator has to fulfil his responsibility continuously. This is verified and ensured by the licensing and supervisory authority.

Planned modifications of a NPP are to be assessed systematically with regards to the impacts on the safety level of the NPP. Modifications obviously having only insignificant impacts on the safety level do not require a licensing procedure, but rather require accompanying inspections by the safety authorities within the framework of the supervisory procedure. Significant modifications of a NPP or its operations require a licence from the competent authority (see chapter 3.1.2).

All operators of German NPPs are obliged to perform comprehensive quality management, based on provisions for quality and safety assurance specified in the Safety Requirements published by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection, Building and Nuclear Safety and in the nuclear safety standards of the Nuclear Safety Standard Commission (Kerntechnischer Ausschuss - KTA). The supervisory authority controls the result of the audits performed by the plant operator, and the implementation of measures derived from it within the framework of on-site inspections. Ageing Management, i.e. measures for maintaining quality over a long period of time, is an integral part of the quality requirements.

According to the Atomic Energy Act, safety reviews (SR) have to be carried out every ten years according to standardized national criteria. They consist of a deterministic safety status analysis, a probabilistic safety analysis and a deterministic analysis on physical protection of the plant. The results have to be submitted to the supervisory authority and are usually assessed by independent experts who act by order of the supervisory authority. The obligation to present the SR results is lifted if the licensee makes the binding declaration to the licensing and supervisory authority that he is definitively going to terminate power operation at the plant no later than three years after the final date for submission of the SR mentioned in the Atomic Energy Act. In addition to the dates for the final shutdown pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act, this means that SRs will be performed in the future only for the two NPPs Gundremmingen C and Brokdorf. SRs supplement the continuous supervision and inspection of NPPs. Findings from the safety reviews and increasing knowledge and requirements imposed on the authorities lead to safety-related backfits and to improvement of the plant.

In the light of the events in Fukushima in 2011, the Reactor Safety Commission (RSK) performed safety reviews for German NPPs in operation [7]. In a summarising assessment, the RSK concluded that compared with the Fukushima NPP, a higher level of precaution can be ascertained for German plants with regard to the electrical power supply and the consideration of flooding events. Further robustness assessments showed that there is no consistent result depending on type or age of the plant to be revealed. At older plants initially with lesser design requirements, emergency systems were upgraded in order to ensure the necessary safety functions.

As a result of the Fukushima accident, the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) published the requirement specifications according to which all NPPs in Europe assessed their robustness against extreme external hazards and in connection with a loss of safety functions as well as the measures provided to cope with severe accidents. Germany participated actively in this EU stress test and in its follow-up process. In country-specific action plans (National Action Plans) the actions taken, planned or implemented are described including a schedule to improve the safety of NPPs. The National Action Plans are publicly available and shall be updated regularly. In order to share lessons learned on the implementation of post-Fukushima safety improvements, these plans were peer reviewed at an ENSREG workshop in April 2013 and 2015, respectively. During both workshops, it was stated that Germany’s NPPs already completed significant enhancements to robustness ahead of the Fukushima events, e.g. filtered containment venting and mobile pumps. The German National Action Plan identified that further work was required in some technical areas which are relevant to the stress test. Some of these actions were completed in 2013, with some left to be completed in 2014/2015. After the 2013 workshop, on behalf of the BMUB, the RSK has issued two new recommendations dealing with extreme external events. Additionally two evaluating activities are currently on-going at RSK and one at SSK, with no identified schedule. By 31 December 2014, Germany last updated its original National Action Plan. The National Report and the National Action Plan of Germany can be found at http://www.ensreg.eu/EU-Stress-Tests/Country-Specific-Reports/EU-Member-States/Germany. The German National Action Plan will continue to be updated until all action have been completed.

For further information see [6] and http://www.ensreg.eu/EU-Stress-Tests.

As the licences for the operation of NPPs are not limited in time, no renewal is required. See also chapter 2.1.1 on the phase-out of nuclear energy by 2022.

See Appendix 2

Safe operation of nuclear power plants is a top priority for the Federal Government, and consequently research in this field is continued and extended.

In 2015, the Energy R&D Programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie – BMWi) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - BMBF) supported research on nuclear safety and waste disposal with a total amount of € 73.9 million.

Within the government, the BMWi currently provides approximately € 22 million annually for reactor safety research, e.g. experimental or analytical studies of the plant behaviour of nuclear reactors under accident conditions, studies concerning the safety of pressure retaining components and the development of probabilistic safety analysis are funded. Approximately a further € 11 million is spent on final disposal and nuclear waste management research.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - BMBF) promotes projects and institutions with funds of around € 40 million, focussing on basic science issues regarding waste disposal, reactor safety research and radiation research. As a long term energy option, the development of fusion reactors is currently supported by BMBF through research projects and institutional funding (around € 140 million in total).

Two prototypes of advanced reactor design were developed in Germany: the pebble-bed high-temperature reactor (Thorium-Hochtemperaturreaktor, THTR 300) at HRB/BBC and a fast breeder reactor (Schneller Natriumgekühlter Reaktor, SNR 300) at Interatom/Siemens. After successful commissioning and operation for some years, the THTR 300 was shut down. The SNR 300 was completed but never commissioned.

See Appendix 1

As member state of the EU, OECD/NEA, and IAEA, Germany supports various international programmes in nuclear safety and nuclear waste management. In direct international co-operation, Germany also supports projects and organizations, e.g. the licensing and supervisory authorities, technical support organizations and also research institutes.

Germany currently participates in the following NEA joint projects, among others:

• NEA Advanced Thermal-hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation facility (ATLAS) Project

• NEA Behaviour of Iodine Project (BIP-2)

• The Benchmark Study of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (BSAF) Project

• NEA Cable Ageing Data and Knowledge (CDAK) Project

• NEA Cabri International Project (CIP)

• NEA Component Operational Experience, Degradation and Ageing Programme (CODAP) Project

• NEA Co-operative Programme for the Exchange of Scientific and Technical Information Concerning Nuclear Installation Decommissioning Projects (CPD)

• NEA Fire Incidents Records Exchange (FIRE) Project

• NEA Fire Propagation in Elementary, Multi-room Scenarios (PRISME-2) Project

• NEA Halden Reactor Project

• NEA High Energy Arcing Fault Events (HEAF) Project

• NEA Hydrogen Mitigation Experiments for Reactor Safety (HYMERES) Project

• NEA Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE)

• OECD/NEA International Common-cause Failure Data Exchange (ICDE) Project

• NEA Loss of Forced Coolant (LOFC) Project

• NEA Primary Coolant Loop Test Facility (PKL-3) Project

• NEA Source Term Evaluation and Mitigation (STEM) Project

• NEA Studsvik Cladding Integrity (SCIP-2) Project

• NEA Thermal-hydraulics, Hydrogen, Aerosols, Iodine (THAI-2) Project

• NEA Thermochemical Database (TDB) Project

For project descriptions see http://www.oecd-nea.org/jointproj/

See also chapter 2.1.2.

Germany is organized as a federal state. Unless otherwise specified, the execution of federal laws lies in principle within the responsibility of the federal states, the Länder. Regarding nuclear energy the Länder execute the legislation on federal commission. Nonetheless, the establishment of the authorities remain the concern of the Länder, except insofar as federal laws enacted with the consent of the Bundesrat otherwise provide.

The "Regulatory body" is composed of Federal Government and Länder government authorities (see Figure 1 and Table 11).

By organisational decree, the Federal Government names the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit – BMUB) as the supreme regulatory authority in charge of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The BMUB is responsible for federal oversight of the legality and appropriateness of execution of the Länder, including the right to issue binding instructions. The subordinate authority to the BMUB in the area of radiation protection and nuclear safety is the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz – BfS). It supports the BMUB technically and scientifically, especially in the execution of federal oversight, the preparation of legal and administrative procedures, and in intergovernmental co-operation.

According to the Atomic Energy Act, the respective Länder governments determine the supreme Länder authorities in charge of the licensing and supervision of nuclear power plants (see Table 4A). For technical matters in the licensing procedure and the supervision of nuclear facilities, the regulatory authorities of the Länder are supported by independent technical support organizations, in general the nuclear departments of the technical support organizations (e.g. TÜV).

The Länder Committee for Nuclear Energy (LAA) is composed of representatives from the Länder nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities and from the BMUB. It serves for the preparatory co-ordination of Federal and Länder authorities in connection with the execution of the Atomic Energy Act as well as for the preparation of amendments and the further development of legal and administrative provisions as well as of the regulatory guidance instruments. In the interest of an execution of nuclear law that is as uniform throughout Germany as possible, the competent nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities of the Länder and the BMUB draft any regulations on the uniform handling of nuclear law in consensus. In the area of legislation, the LAA is an important instrument of early and comprehensive involvement of the Länder which supplements the formal right of participation of the Länder in the legislative procedure of the German Federal Council (Bundesrat). The Committee‘s decisions are usually by mutual consent.



TABLE 11: ASSIGNMENT OF THE REGULATORY FUNCTIONS TO THE NUCLEAR AUTHORITIES OF THE FEDERATION AND THE LÄNDER

	Functions and responsibilities of the regulatory body
Regulatory function	Federal Government authorities	Länder government authorities
Main functions
Establishment of national safety requirements and regulations	Further development of the legal requirements (decided by Parliament in the case of formal Acts, by Federal Government with approval of the Bundesrat in the case of ordinances) and the regulatory guidance instruments	Participation on the basis of consolidated findings and needs in connection with execution Supplementary administrative procedures of the respective Länder
Licensing system with regard to nuclear installations	Oversight with regard to legality and expediency* Checking of consolidated findings with regard to their relevance to standard national requirements	Checking of applications and notifications according to Section 7 of the Atomic Energy Act, granting of licences and approvals
System of regulatory inspection and assessment of nuclear installations	Oversight with regard to legality and expediency* Checking of consolidated findings with regard to their relevance to standard national requirements	Controls and inspections in the nuclear facilities, checking and assessment with regard to the relevance to the safety of the installation, as well as to protection and prevention measures
Enforcement of applicable regulations and of the terms of licences	Oversight with regard to legality and expediency* Checking of consolidated findings with regard to their relevance to standard national requirements	Implementation of necessary measures to avert hazards and concerning necessary safety improvements and improvements of protection and prevention measures
Secondary functions
Regulatory safety research	Investigation of safety issues for standard requirements	Plant-specific studies
Monitoring of events, operating experience and implementation	Examination and assessment of events in Germany and abroad, with regard to generic relevance to the safety of installations as well as to protection and prevention measures; national organisation of experience feedback	Examination and assessment of events with regard to relevance to the safety of installations as well as to protection and prevention measures
Radiation protection, environmental monitoring	Monitoring of the radiation exposure of the population and the federal territory	Plant-specific monitoring of emissions and immissions (radiation exposure of workers and in the environment)
Emergency preparedness	Preparation and planning of general requirements; cross-national emergency preparedness, international reporting systems	Participation in the preparation and planning of general requirements, plant-specific emergency protection
International co-operation	Participation in international activities to determine the state of the art in science and technology and regarding nuclear regulations, and provision for national purposes; Fulfilment of international obligations; assertion of German safety interests	Consideration of the internationally documented state of the art in science and technology Participation in co-operation with neighbouring countries in the case of installations close to the border, especially on the basis of bilateral agreements

Grey	Leading function, execution within area of competence
Light grey	Function with separate competences but common objectives
White	"Federalism function" oversight with regard to legality and expediency or participation (e.g. in the Länder Committee for Nuclear Energy (LAA), by provision of information)
( This also means that the Federal Government may execute its power to decide the respective matter in hand itself, and initiate on its own authority the corresponding detailed examinations.

Source: Country Information [6].



Participants in the licensing and supervisory procedure for NPPs are shown in Figure 3.

A licence is required for construction, operation, and essential modification of nuclear facilities, or for the operation and decommissioning of a stationary installation for the production, treatment, processing or fission of nuclear fuel. Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act, licences for the construction of nuclear power plants for the commercial production of electricity are no longer issued. Licensing procedures for NPPs are therefore only performed for the essential modification of existing NPPs and for their decommissioning.

The operating licences for existing NPPs are not limited in time and thus do not require renewal. The authorisation for power operation of existing NPPs expires once the shutdown dates fixed in the Atomic Energy Act are reached or if the electricity volume for the respective plant, as stipulated in the Atomic Energy Act, including possible electricity volumes transferred from other plants, has been produced.

The actual details and procedure of licensing are specified in the Nuclear Licensing Procedure Ordinance. Here, the application procedure with the submission of supporting documents and the participation of the general public are described. Furthermore, the Nuclear Licensing Procedure Ordinance specifies the assessment of any environmental impact and the consideration of other licensing requirements (e.g. regarding the possible release or discharge of non-radioactive pollutants into air or water).

The written licence application is submitted to the competent licensing authority of the Land in which the nuclear installation is sited. On the basis of the submitted documents, the licensing authority examines whether or not the licensing prerequisites have been met. All federal, Länder, local and other regional authorities – according to circumstances also authorities of other states - whose jurisdiction is involved shall take part in the licensing procedure. These are e.g. authorities responsible under the building code, the water code, for regional planning and for emergency response. Participation of the public was obligatory for construction licences. In case of major modifications, the authority may waive a public participation if the modification does not give rise to the concern that there might be adverse effects on the public. However, the public has to be involved if this is required pursuant to the Act on the Assessment of Environmental Impacts. The competent authority performs a final evaluation of the environmental impacts on the basis of the requirements in nuclear and radiation protection regulations. The final decision of the licensing authority is based on the entirety of application documents, safety evaluation reports by the authorized experts and, if available, the statement by the BMUB and the authorities consulted as well as the findings from objections raised in the public hearing.

As in licensing, the prime objective of the regulatory supervision of nuclear installations is to protect the general public and workers in these installations against the hazards connected with the operation of the installation. Nuclear installations are subject to continuous regulatory supervision over their entire lifetime - from the start of construction to the end of decommissioning. Supervision is performed by the Länder authorities, on behalf of the Federation. Authorized experts called in by the supervisory authority have access to the nuclear installation at any time and are authorized to perform the necessary examinations and to demand pertinent information. In addition, the operators of NPPs have to supply operating reports to the supervisory authorities at regular intervals. Any events that are relevant to safety and to physical protection must be reported to the authorities. In addition to the continuous regulatory supervision, comprehensive periodic safety reviews are to be performed every ten years.

Under the Atomic Energy Act the NPP operator’s liability for third party damage is unlimited. Furthermore, the Atomic Energy Act compels the operators of NPPs to secure their liability for damages which may arise from a nuclear incident (compulsory financial security). Pursuant to the regulations of the Nuclear Financial Security Ordinance the financial security to be provided for each operating NPP shall be € 2.5 billion. The financial security may be ensured by third party liability insurance or other financial means, e.g. private warranty. The Atomic Energy Act also stipulates that the Federation shall indemnify an NPP operator from any liability to pay compensation for nuclear damage to the extent such liability cannot be satisfied out of the financial security provided by the operator. The maximum amount of indemnification by the Federation shall be € 2.5 billion.

The individual power utilities or their subsidiaries are the licensees of the NPPs. They are obliged by law to build up financial reserves to be prepared for the follow-up costs connected with the operation of a nuclear power plant, such as the decommissioning and dismantling of the installations, and the treatment and disposal of radioactive material including spent fuel. The financial reserves are adjusted on an annual basis. The valuation of these reserves is regularly reviewed by independent accountants and the financial authorities.

For further information see [6] and [8].

FIGURE 3: PARTICIPANTS IN THE LICENSING AND SUPERVISION PROCEDURE FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS