Gundremmingen Nuclear Power Plant

The Gundremmingen Nuclear Power Plant is the highest-output nuclear power station in Germany, producing 2,572 megawatts of electricity. It is located in Gundremmingen, district of Günzburg, Bavaria and is operated by Kernkraftwerk Gundremmingen GmbH, a joint operation of RWE Power AG, based in Essen (75%) and Uniper (25%). Two units, B and C, are currently in operation. Unit A was the site of the first fatal accident in a nuclear power plant and subsequently of a major accident resulting in a total loss, the only such catastrophe to date in a nuclear power plant in Germany.Reactor UnitsUnit AUnit A was a boiling water reactor with an output of 237 megawatts, the first large nuclear power plant in Germany. It was in operation from 1966 until 1977, and during its life generated a total of 13.79 TWh of energy.Following objections by the city of Nuremberg to the original planned location on the Danube at Bertoldsheim (between Donauwörth und Neuburg an der Donau), because of protected areas for the city's drinking water supply in the Lech estuary, the plant was instead located approximately 50 km up-river in Gundremmingen, between Dillingen und Günzburg. The plant was proposed on July 13, 1962, quickly approved, on December 14, 1962, and placed in service in December 1966. A protest group, the Notgemeinschaft Atom-Kraftwerk Gundremmingen-Offingen (Gundremmingen-Offingen Atomic Power Plant Emergency Organization) was silenced using monies specifically set aside for the purpose.