Germany’s oldest nuclear reactor to close down

Germany’s oldest nuclear reactor will be shut down permanently overnight, its owner E.ON said on Saturday, marking a major milestone in the country’s drive for clean and sustainable energy.

The 34 year-old Grafenrheinfeld reactor in northern Bavaria is in the process of winding down.

It would be completely out of service on Sunday, according to E.ON, which is abiding by legislation that requires the closure of all commercial nuclear reactors by 2022.

The so-called Energiewende, best translated as energy transition, calls for at least 80 per cent of power to come from renewable sources by 2050.

The fundamental policy shift was introduced in 2011 after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.

Eight reactors were shut down immediately in Germany while the remaining plants are to be shut down in the coming seven years.