Within the German Federal Government, energy policy is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi)). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit (BMU)) is responsible for environmental policy, including nuclear safety and radiation protection.

The major aim of the German energy policy is an affordable, secure and environmentally friendly energy supply. This aim shall be reached through the ongoing energy transition, which plans to produce energy on a sustainable basis and to maintain one of the most energy efficient, safe 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-grid by the end of 2022.

• A greater share of renewable energy shall be used — according to the Energy Concept document adopted by the Federal Government in 2010—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.

• In line with the Paris Agreement, the emissions of greenhouse gases shall be reduced by 80% to 95% by 2050, as targeted in the Federal Government’s 2050 Climate Action Plan.

• Power grids are undergoing major expansion and modernization in order to meet demand.

• 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 [1].

The Energy Concept document, adopted by the Federal Government in 2010, remains Germany’s guiding document for realizing the energy transition to date. In 2011, it was supplemented by the decision to completely phase out nuclear from electricity generation by the end of 2022.

More information and the structured plan of the energy transition can be found on the BMWi website.

Germany is one of the largest energy consumers in the world and is currently expanding generation capacities for primary energy from renewable sources as part of the implementation of its energy transition, and to comply with the obligations inherent in the Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2015. However, around 80% of its primary energy consumption [2] still has to be provided by fossil fuels. Germany must import the majority of the energy resources it requires. The most significant source countries for fossil fuel imports to Germany are the Russian Federation, Norway and the Netherlands.

Around 2% of crude oil production and 7% of natural gas production are derived from domestic production [2]. Mining of hard coal was phased out in 2018. Of all the energy resources in Germany, lignite is the only non-renewable energy resource which is available in large, economically extractable amounts (Germany supplies its own needs, and is the world’s largest producer and consumer of this resource).

The demand for natural uranium is covered almost entirely by imports. Since the closure of the Wismut facility in East Germany in 1990, there has been no mined production of natural uranium in Germany.

An overview of the estimated available energy sources in Germany is given in Table 1. The remaining potential of fossil and nuclear fuels is given as reserves, being defined as proven volumes of energy resources economically exploitable at today’s prices and using today’s technology. Renewables are given as installed capacity in 2018, hydropower as run-of-river, storage and pumped storage power station with natural inflow. Exajoule (EJ) equivalent is calculated for a period of 10 years.

TABLE 1. ESTIMATED AVAILABLE ENERGY SOURCES 2018

¹ Solid includes lignite. Reserves of hard coal are 0.

Source: [2, 3].

Table 2 gives an overview of the energy consumption in Germany.

TABLE 2. ENERGY CONSUMPTION

*Latest available data, .please note that compound annual growth rate may not be representative of actual average growth.

- : data not available

Source (s): IAEA RDS-1

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

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.

Generation

Germany’s electricity supply is undergoing radical change. At present, conventional energy sources (including nuclear) generate approximately 60% of Germany’s electricity. However, the ongoing expansion of renewable energy and the phase out of nuclear energy for power generation will change the composition of the electricity mix. With 242.0 TWh in 2019, renewables accounted for 40.1% of Germany’s gross electricity production. Onshore and offshore wind provided 20.9%, biomass 7.4% and photovoltaic 7.5% [3].

There are more than 1000 commercial electricity producers in Germany. The four largest electricity producers are RWE AG, E.ON SE/Uniper SE, EnBW AG and Vattenfall GmbH, which contribute about 75% to the German electricity market.

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 has a comparatively well developed and intricately meshed electricity grid. The four transmission system operators are 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 or to the respective regional regulator (Länderregulierungsbehörde). Grid fees, which cover transmission operations and investments, are charged to distributor companies, which are then passed on to the end users through 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 new extra high voltage transmission lines.

The network development plan 2019–2030 (Netzentwicklungsplan (NEP)) was confirmed by the Federal Network Agency in December 2019.

The total length of the German ultra-high voltage transmission grids is about 37 000 km. For the most part, electricity is transmitted as alternating current (AC) with a maximum voltage of 220 kV or 380 kV. Yet under the Federal Requirements Planning Act, new high voltage direct current (DC) transmission lines are planned, with a voltage of up to 525 kV. In the fourth quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019, a total of 115 km of the almost 6,000 km of lines under the Planning Act were constructed. A total of 300 km was constructed by the end of the first quarter of 2019 [1].

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: Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. Some of these transmission lines are already high voltage direct current systems (i.e. with Denmark) or are under construction (i.e. with Belgium and Norway). In 2018, Germany exported 85.3 TWh and imported 34 TWh, amounting to net exports of 51.3 TWh. The largest share of Germany’s net exports went to the Netherlands, Austria and Poland, while imports came mostly from France [4].

Distribution

At the level of the distribution grids, electricity is transmitted at high, medium and low voltages. The high voltage grid is linked to the ultra-high voltage grid and distributes electricity to urban areas (60 kV to 220 kV; grid length approximately 94 000 km). The medium voltage grid distributes the electricity to regional transformer substations or directly to large facilities (6 kV to 60 kV; grid length approximately 520 000 km). The low voltage grid distributes the power to end users (230 V or 400 V; grid length approximately 1 190 000 km). There are about 900 distribution system operators in Germany, mainly regional and municipal grid operators.

Baseload power is provided by hard coal, lignite and nuclear power plants, which typically run with a maximum number of operating hours but can also be operated in load following operation. These plants provide about 40% of the total electricity production. At present, the proportion of renewable energy in the electricity supply is about 29%. This value is an average for the whole year, though it can reach higher levels at peak times. Phases with low renewable availability therefore need to be covered by facilities such as flexible conventional power stations to ensure the reliability of the power supply.

Table 3 gives an overview of the electricity production in in Germany.

Table 4 displays several energy related ratios.

TABLE 3. ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION

*Latest available data, please note that compound annual growth rate may not be representative of actual average growth

**Electricity transmission losses are not deducted.

Source (s): IAEA RDS-1

TABLE 4. ENERGY RELATED RATIOS

*Latest available data.

Source: RDS-2

In the 1950s, research and development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes began. Based on extensive international cooperation, several prototype reactors were constructed, and 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 United States manufacturers, West Germany started to develop commercial nuclear power plants (Siemens/Westinghouse for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), AEG/General Electric for boiling water reactors (BWRs)). In 1958, the first West German NPP — a 16 MW(e) experimental nuclear power plant (Versuchsatomkraftwerk Kahl, VAK) — was ordered from AEG/GE, and it reached criticality in 1960. Domestic West German nuclear development began in 1961, with the order of 15 MW(e) pebble bed high temperature reactors (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor at Jülich, AVR) from the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Brown, Boveri & Cie. (BBC)/Krupp (BBC, or Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. (ABB)). Power reactors with 250–350 MW(e) and 600–700 MW(e) were ordered between 1965 and 1970.

After about 15 years, the nuclear technology gap between the West German and the international community 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 MW(e), 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 MW(e) PWR (the so-called ‘Konvoi’) was introduced, mainly to speed up the licensing process. Three Konvoi units started operation in 1988 and were the last NPPs built in West Germany.

The German Democratic Republic (i.e. East Germany) started to develop a peaceful nuclear energy programme 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 NPP, a 70 MW(e) plant at 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 down these plants. 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 enthusiasm about nuclear energy during the fifties and sixties, scepticism about nuclear power began to grow during the early 1970s. An increasing number of citizens were opposed to the risks of nuclear energy and opposed the further expansion of nuclear power plants. In West Germany, names such as Wyhl and Brokdorf (nuclear power plants), Gorleben (waste management centre), Wackersdorf (reprocessing unit) and Kalkar (fast breeder) are synonyms for the protests against nuclear power. After the Three Mile Island nuclear incident in Harrisburg, PA, in 1979 and the disaster of Chernobyl 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 on a structured phase out of the commercial utilization of nuclear energy for electricity production. The Atomic Energy Act was amended accordingly in April 2002. A legal ban on the construction of new NPPs was enacted. 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 shutdown dates.

Since 2010, the Federal Government has focused on an energy mix, in which conventional sources of energy are gradually replaced with renewable energies. After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP on 11 March 2011, the German Federal Government decided on the termination of the use of nuclear energy by the year 2022.

The revised Atomic Energy Act stipulates the following deadlines for the remaining NPPs, on which the authorization for power operation expires:

31 December 2021: Grohnde, Gundremmingen C, Brokdorf;

• 31 December 2022: Isar 2, Emsland, Neckarwestheim 2.

The authorization for power operation of an NPP may also expire before the above mentioned date if the respective assigned electricity volume has been generated. Electricity volumes may be transferred partially or in total from one NPP to another. For details, see Section 2.2.1 and Table 5B.

The current organizational structure is shown in Fig. 1.

FIG. 1. Current organizational structure.

Updated from Source: [5].

The regulatory body is composed of the nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities of the Federal Government and state governments. The federal ministry that oversees nuclear safety and radiation protection is the BMU. The licensing procedure for operation and decommissioning and the continuous regulatory supervision of the facilities lie within the responsibility of the individual federal states (Land Ministry). Subordinate authorities to the BMU are the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung (BASE),) which is the central licensing and supervisory authority in the field of nuclear waste management, in addition to duties under the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS)). A detailed description of the regulatory authorities is given in section 3.1.1.

The BMU is regularly advised by the Reactor Safety Commission (RSK), the Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) and the Nuclear Waste Management Commission (ESK). The RSK provides advice in matters of nuclear safety including matters with respect to the physical protection of nuclear installations. The SSK provides advice in matters of protection against ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and the ESK in matters of nuclear waste management. The members of the commissions are obliged by statutes to express their opinion in a neutral and scientifically sound manner and are appointed by the BMU. The results of the commission’s consultations are formulated in the form of general recommendations and statements on individual cases and published.

The authorities in charge may consult authorized experts in the licensing and supervisory procedures. These can include both independent experts and independent technical expert organizations. The BMU draws on the external expertise of several such organizations. In particular, these are the Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH, Brenk Systemplanung GmbH, and Öko-Institut e.V. The nuclear supervisory authorities of the Länder usually seek advice from the major technical expert organizations of the TÜVs (TÜV = Technical Inspection Association, i.e. TÜV Nord, TÜV Süd and TÜV Rheinland). As a rule, framework agreements exist between the nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities of the Länder and the TÜVs, which oblige TÜVs to perform certain tasks in the long term and to provide the necessary know-how including appropriately qualified personnel.

In Germany, six nuclear power plants (five PWRs and one BWR), with a total gross capacity of 8.545 GWe, are in operation. Table 5A shows the status of German NNPs. Figure 2 shows their geographical location and their status as of the end of April 2020.

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 5B shows the residual electricity volumes of the German NPPs as of 31 December 2019.

In 2019, NPPs contributed approximately 12.4% to the gross electricity production, which corresponds to 75.1 TWh. The average availability of German NPPs is shown in Table 5C.

In total, 46 research and training reactors were built and operated in Germany. At present, most research reactors are shut down or being decommissioned, though six research facilities — two with a thermal power of more than 50 kW(th) and four small training reactors — are still in operation.

TABLE 5A. STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS (INCLUDING PROTOTYPE AND EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS)

Updated from Source: [5].

TABLE 5B. RESIDUAL ELECTRICITY VOLUMES OF GERMAN NPPs AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2019 [TWh]

¹ The NPP Mülheim-Kärlich was shut down in September 1988. The electricity volume of the NPP Mülheim-Kärlich can be transferred to KKE, GKN 2, KKI 2, KBR, KRB B, KRB C.

Source: [6].

TABLE 5C. AVERAGE AVAILABILITY OF GERMAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Note: Preliminary data.

Time availability: available operating time/calendar time.Energy availability: available energy/nominal energy.Capacity availability: energy generated/nominal energy.

Source: [7].

According to the Atomic Energy Act, a licence for operating an NPP is only granted if the applicant proves that the necessary technical and organizational precautions for safe operation have been taken. During operation, the plant operator must fulfil his or her responsibilities continuously, which the licensing and supervisory authority verifies and ensures.

Planned modifications of an NPP are to be assessed systematically with regard to the impacts on the safety level of the NPP. Modifications with insignificant impacts on safety levels do not require a licensing procedure, but they do require accompanying inspections by the safety authorities within the framework of the supervisory procedure. Significant modifications of an NPP or its operations require a licence from the appropriate authority (see Section 3.1.2).

According to the Atomic Energy Act, safety reviews must be carried out every ten years and follow the standardized national criteria. Safety reviews consist of a deterministic safety status analysis, a probabilistic safety analysis and a deterministic analysis on physical protection of the plant. The results are then submitted to the supervisory authority and usually assessed by independent experts who act by order of the supervisory authority.

Germany participated actively in the European Union’s Stress Test and in its follow-up process, initiated by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG). During ENSREG workshops in April 2013 and 2015, it was stated that Germany’s NPPs had already completed significant enhancements to robustness ahead of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP 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. The National Report and the National Action Plan of Germany can be found at www.ensreg.eu/EU-Stress-Tests/Country-Specific-Reports/EU-Member-States/Germany.

Furthermore, Germany participated in the first European Union Topical Peer Review with the topic Ageing Management of Nuclear Power Plants, coordinated by ENSREG. The BMU submitted a National Assessment Report in 2018 and in September 2019 the National Action Plan for the implementation of the results in due time. For further information, see www.ensreg.eu/eu-topical-peer-review.

As of 30 April 2020, 30 nuclear power plants, including prototype and experimental reactors, had been permanently shut down. Of these, 26 facilities are being dismantled and are intended to be released from nuclear regulatory control, including one facility in safe enclosure. Three facilities have already been completely dismantled and the sites released from nuclear regulatory control. One facility is in post-operation. Further information (shutdown date and reason, etc.) is shown in Table 6. For decommissioning, a licence is required from the relevant licensing authority of the state in which the nuclear installation is sited. The licensing and supervisory process is described in Sections 3.1.1 and 3.1.2.

Each decommissioning project runs individually. The course of the project, the financing, the choice of the decommissioning strategy and many other boundary conditions depend strongly on the type of plant and the owner of the plant. NPPs and uranium enrichment and fuel assembly plants are usually overseen by energy supply companies. The licensees are obliged to continuously build up financial reserves for the decommissioning of their installations. On the other hand, research reactors, prototype and experimental reactors as well as prototype plants for fuel supply are mostly located in research centres or at universities. Their decommissioning is financed predominantly by the federal budget.

The decommissioning of the NPPs Greifswald and Rheinsberg of the former East Germany is financed from the federal budget as well, as is the decommissioning of facilities for uranium ore mining and processing in the former East Germany.

Under the Atomic Energy Act and in line with the polluter-pays principle, the operators must pay for the shut-down and dismantling of the NPPs, as well as for the management of the nuclear waste produced by them, including the cost of waste disposal. On 16 June 2017, the Act on the Reorganization of Responsibility in Nuclear Waste Management entered into force. Under the Act, the NPP operators remain responsible for the financing and management of decommissioning of the nuclear power plants and the proper packaging of the nuclear waste, while the Federal Government is responsible for the implementation and financing of interim storage and disposal of radioactive waste. On 3 July 2017, the operators transferred financial means amounting to approximately €24 billion into a public law fund to cover the costs of interim storage and disposal of radioactive waste. The spent fuel and radioactive waste, as well as the interim storage facilities defined in the Act, are in the process of being transferred to the Federal Government.

Since 2017, safe enclosure is not allowed for NPPs by an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act. In individual cases the competent authority can approve temporary exceptions for facility parts only when required for reasons of radiation protection.

TABLE 6. STATUS OF DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS (INCLUDING PROTOTYPE AND EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS) AS OF 30 APRIL 2020

Source: [7,8].

Safe operation of nuclear power plants is a top priority for the Federal Government, and consequently research in this field is continued and extended. For a more complete list of organizations, please refer to Appendix 2.

The Federal Government published its 7th Energy Research Programme in 2018. Research on nuclear safety and waste management is an integral part of the Energy Research Programme.

Within the Government, the BMWi currently provides approximately €21million annually for reactor safety research, funding experimental or analytical studies of the performance of nuclear reactors under accident conditions, studies concerning the safety of pressure retaining components and the development of probabilistic safety analysis. Another approximately €16 million is spent on waste management research, aiming at providing the scientific-technical foundations and broadening the knowledge base for decision-making in waste management, especially for heat-generating radioactive waste.

The BMBF promotes projects and institutions with funds of around €44 million, focusing on basic science issues regarding waste disposal, reactor safety research and radiation research. As a long term energy option, the BMBF currently supports the development of fusion reactors through institutional funding (around €126 million in total). For further details and information see Reference [9].

The BMU promotes research projects and institutions, focusing on the security of nuclear facilities and nuclear safety, radiation protection, as well as the security of nuclear supply and disposal. BASE is promoting research in particular on the topics of site selection procedure, public participation, interim storage and transport of radioactive waste, as well as nuclear waste disposal security. BfS is performing and promoting research in the fields of biological radiation effects, medical radiation protection, epidemiology, dosimetry, emergency preparedness, and environmental radioactivity, thereby supporting the BMU in technical and scientific questions of fundamental importance for the protection of people from ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

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. The THTR 300 was connected to the grid in 1985 and shut down in 1989. The SNR 300 was completed in 1985 but never commissioned.

As a Member State of the European Union, the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/NEA), and the IAEA, Germany supports various international programmes in nuclear safety and nuclear waste management. In direct international cooperation, Germany also supports projects and organizations such as licensing and supervisory authorities, technical support organizations and research institutes.

Appendix 1 enumerates the international, multinational and bilateral agreements in which Germany is involved, including Germany is Contracting Party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) and to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management (JC). The CNS Eighth Review Meeting National Report and the JC Sixth Review Meeting National Report are available on the BMU website.

According to EU regulations, Germany is obliged to participate in IAEA safety reviews at least every ten years. An Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) took place from 31 March to 12 April 2019. The publicly available report confirms that Germany’s regulatory framework for nuclear safety meets the internationally applicable standards. The review team found that Germany’s nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities are mature and competent and highlighted the effective cooperation with other organizations and interested parties. The Review Team identified a “good practice” for its Integrated Measuring and Information System for the Monitoring of Environmental Radioactivity. An ARTEMIS mission (Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation) took place from 23 September to 04 October 2019. The ARTEMIS report concluded that Germany has a mature legal and regulatory framework for the safety of radioactive waste and spent fuel management. The recently restructured organizational framework for the National Programme contains the necessary elements for safety and programme implementation.

Germany currently participates in most of the OECD/NEA joint projects and hosts the OECD/NEA Primary Coolant Loop Test Facility and the Thermal-hydraulics, Hydrogen, Aerosols and Iodine projects. For project descriptions see www.oecd-nea.org/jointproj/.

Germany is a republic with a federal structure and is composed of 16 federal states, in German called Länder. The Federal Chancellor determines the competence of the supreme federal authorities by organizational decree. Accordingly, the responsibility for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations and radiation protection was transferred to the BMU. As part of the Federal Government, the BMU is involved in legislation (legislative power), while the Länder implement the Atomic Energy Act on behalf of the Federation (federal executive administration).

The licensing procedure for operation and decommissioning and the continuous regulatory supervision of the facilities lie within the responsibility of the individual federal states (see Table 7).

TABLE 7. THE LÄNDER LICENSING AND SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES FOR NPPs (INCLUDING PROTOTYPE AND EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS)

In the case of facilities overseeing safekeeping and disposal of radioactive waste, state supervision is regulated differently from the division of tasks between the Federation and the Länder. The nuclear waste management sector was reorganised in order to efficiently select a site for a disposal facility for high level radioactive waste. Accordingly, the BASE was established in 2014 as the central licensing and supervisory authority in the field of waste management.

Belonging to the BMU’s portfolio are two subordinate authorities responsible for nuclear safety, radiation protection and nuclear waste management issues.

The subordinate authority of the BMU in the area of radiation protection is the BfS. The BfS pools competencies in the area of effects and risks of ionising and non-ionising radiation (e.g. in mobile communication and UV protection), radiological emergency preparedness, monitoring of environmental radioactivity as well as medical and occupational radiation protection. With four technical divisions it provides support for the supervisory body, the BMU, with regard to statutory tasks in the areas of radiation protection and performs research in its areas of responsibility. .

As a subordinate authority of the BMU, the BASE performs regulatory, licensing and supervisory tasks regarding disposal, storing, handling and transporting of high-level radioactive waste; regulates the search for and selection of a final disposal facility for high level radioactive waste (site selection procedure), organizing participation of the public in the process; provides support for the supervisory body, the BMU, with regard to nuclear safety and performs research in its areas of responsibility.

According to the Atomic Energy Act, the erection, operation or holding of a stationary installation for the production, treatment, processing or fission of nuclear fuel, an essential modification of the installation or its operation and also the decommissioning and dismantling require a licence. A licence may only be granted if the licensing requirements specified in the Atomic Energy Act are met. New licences for the erection and the operation of installations for the fission of nuclear fuel for the commercial generation of electricity and for facilities for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel will not be issued anymore in Germany. The licensing authorities are the supreme Länder authorities stipulated by the Länder governments.

The licensing procedures have to be carried out in accordance with the Nuclear Licensing Procedure Ordinance. This stipulates the application process with the submission of documents, public participation, the opportunity to divide the process into several licensing steps (partial licences) and the observation of other licensing requirements (e.g. for non-radioactive emissions and for discharges into water bodies). Furthermore, in certain cases an environmental impact assessment has to be carried out. In some cases, the Nuclear Licensing Procedure Ordinance is not applicable. Then, a nonformal licensing procedure is carried out.

For further information see Reference [5].