Energy analyst Platts reports that Germany's 1.4 GW Grohnde reactor has now generated over 350 TWh of electricity during its 32 years in operation as a baseload plant, more than any other single nuclear power generation block around the world. But its future role is going to be very different, and one rarely associated with nuclear power plants.
It is to play an increasing role in providing grid stability, plant operator E.ON Kernkraft has revealed in a statement. "While the plant was used exclusively in baseload [around the clock operation] in the past, it is now used for up to 600 hours each month to regulate load," E.ON said, adding that it has increased fourfold the capability of the reactor to ramp up or down, now set at an impressive 40 MW per minute.
The reduced baseload operation of the reactor is apparent in the 2015 output statistic, which remained below 10 TWh despite an availability of 92.4%, E.ON said. It is scheduled to be switched off by the end of 2021 under Germany's nuclear phase-out timetable.
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