A consortium led by Westinghouse has been awarded a contract for dismantling the reactor pressure vessel and internals of unit 1 at the Philippsburg nuclear power plant in Germany The contract - awarded by Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW) subsidiary EnBW Kernkraft GmbH (EnKK) - covers the planning equipment manufacture and on-site segmentation of the reactor vessel internals and the reactor vessel The scope for this contract will be carried out by a consortium comprising Nukem Technologies and GNS (Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service) under the lead of Westinghouse The work will be carried out under the direction of EnKK once the decommissioning licence is granted by the Ministry of the Environment The company applied for the "final and permanent" decommissioning of Philippsburg 1 and for the initial demolition permit in May 2013 EnBW expects the decommissioning and dismantling phase at the 890 MWe boiling water reactor to take about 15 to 20 years Westinghouse vice president and managing director for Central Europe Norbert Haspel said "We are very pleased to be awarded this contract we have developed a customer-oriented and optimized solution leveraging the strength of each of the partners With this project we are able to sustain our fruitful cooperation with EnBW through the deployment of safe proven Westinghouse technology to their decommissioning activities." EnBW's Philippsburg 1 was among the older reactor units that Chancellor Angela Merkel forced to close early in the week of the Fukushima accident in March 2011 its operation had been set to continue until 2017 brought its power generation career to an abrupt end The newer Philippsburg 2 unit continues to operate but is scheduled to shut down in 2019 Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News it has been run as a tyre distribution centre in conjunction with a third-party logistics firm Tyres & Accessories understands that the Philipsburg tyre distribution operation is no longer as efficient and effective as Goodyear had hoped The company is now consulting with employees regarding the future of 15 jobs in Philippsburg The opening of the two new distribution centres is said to be about “getting closer to the market” and improving customer service company representatives point out that the optimised logistics associated with the two new distribution centre locations in the Czech Republic and France will result in reduced delivery mileage and therefore lower the tyre manufacturer’s carbon footprint which will focus on passenger car tyre or “consumer” products but will rather be operated in conjunction with those in the third-party logistics business The identity of the logistics partner or partners has not been revealed as Goodyear is currently in the midst of a tender process Goodyear is not revealing details of the costs associated with either the cost of closing the Philippsburg operation or any investment associated with the establishment of the new distribution centres in the Czech Republic and France at this time a Goodyear EMEA spokesperson gave Tyres & Accessories the following statement: “Goodyear announced changes to its European warehousing operations to be closer to the markets it serves which will improve customer service levels and lower carbon emissions by reducing transportation mileage “The changes include establishing two new regional distribution centres in Cheb They will replace the existing warehouse in Philippsburg where operations will be discontinued in 2024.” If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com the two cooling towers of the former nuclear power plant in Grafenrheinfeld will be blown up this Friday at 6:30 pm CET The area around the nuclear power plant is cordoned off but it will probably be possible to catch a glimpse of the event on site Blast spotters can also take to the Internet Bayerischer Rundfunk has scouted out possible viewing locations for the blasting spectacle onlookers could take to the cycle path that runs from the Bergrheinfeld traffic circle in the direction of Hergolshausen for around four kilometers along the state road 2270 there is a foam opportunity about 800 meters from the cooling towers so there will be a clear view of the site almost all the way Spectators will be able to set up along the Main and in the meadows and fields around the restricted area Four of the five 380-kV high-voltage lines that come together in Grafenrheinfeld and are important for Europe's power supply must be switched off before the blasting can take place "If there is too much dust on the insulator chains of the individual circuits after the blasting" this could lead to an interruption in the operation of the individual circuits explains Tennet spokesman Markus Lieberknecht They can only be switched off if there is as little wind power as possible in the grid on that day "Tennet will avoid overloading the electricity grid due to high wind feed-in and simultaneous shutdown of individual circuits," says Lieberknecht "If the weather forecasts indicate that a large amount of wind power will feed into the German and European power grid further planned shutdown windows are available for a postponement on the following days and weekends." The cooling towers are each 143 meters high with a diameter of around 105 meters at the base and around 64 meters at the top They are designed to collapse under their own weight a few seconds apart drop and vertical slots will be made in the cooling tower shells numerous holes will be drilled in the cooling tower supports and near the drop and vertical slots which will be filled with explosive charges is intended to create a "blast mouth" that causes the cooling towers to collapse in a controlled manner this type of blasting has already been carried out more than 50 times in Germany alone when demolishing cooling towers The Thuringian blasting company responsible does not reveal how much explosive is required for the total of around 34,000 tons of reinforced concrete Details such as the number of holes to be drilled Everything should be over within 30 seconds The blast is first announced by fanfare blasts there is to be a bang; this scaring blast is intended to prevent birds still sitting on the cooling towers from being harmed This is followed by the actual blasting: first the northern tower with the internal power plant name ZP2 the two grid operators Tennet and Bayernwerk have to check the existing circuits for damage and dirt Experts also inspect the buildings on the site and the two interim storage facilities for highly radioactive waste The demolition of the cooling towers will cost a good 3 million euros in total If everything goes smoothly, this will be the second time in Germany that cooling towers at a decommissioned nuclear power plant have been demolished. In May 2020, two cooling towers of a nuclear power plant in Philippsburg, Baden-Württemberg, were blown up for the first time. The event took place without publicity at the time due to the coronavirus, but was extensively documented by the operator EnBW The Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant went into commercial operation in 1982 and was decommissioned in June 2015 in accordance with the 13th amendment to the German Nuclear Energy Act in 2012 it had produced 333,000 GWh of electricity It is not yet clear how the site will be used afterward it makes sense to use the site for energy purposes 2020 has been a difficult year for so many of us Lockdowns and social distancing became the “new normal” changing our lives as if we’re living through a science fiction movie.  our courageous volunteers and activists have never wavered from selflessly sounding the alarms about the climate crises Check out some of the best images from our actions teams across the world in 2020 Greenpeace UK and supporters are outside Edinburgh’s Court of Session on the first day of the trial Transocean asks Scottish courts to jail Greenpeace’s boss and punish the campaigning group with huge fines Greenpeace activists blocked a BP rig from drilling new oil wells in the North Sea for 12 days which Greenpeace was accused of breaching by continuing its protest Youth voices via holographic projection at National Assembly in Seoul The projection shows 33 youth representatives delivering emotional speeches against the background of the National Assembly to urge politicians to act on the climate crisis immediately Projection at Nuclear Power Plant Philippsburg Germany Greenpeace Germany celebrates the destruction of the two cooling towers of the nuclear power plant Philippsburg with a projection It reads: “Making room for the energy turnaround” and #NOMONEYFORYESTERDAY The Nuclear power plant will be deconstructed Two paragliders from Greenpeace Hong Kong fly over Lantau island in Hong Kong urging the government not to go ahead with the ‘Lantau Tomorrow’ reclamation project The Hong Kong government’s “Lantau Tomorrow Vision” reclamation project will cost at least HKD 624 billion (EUR 68.3 billion) and will not only destroy Hong Kong’s precious marine ecology and biodiversity but also drain Hong Kong’s fiscal reserves Modern slavery of Indonesian fishers protest in Jakarta The Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) together with Greenpeace Indonesia conducted a peaceful action in front of Presidential Palace in Jakarta to encourage the President to immediately ratify the Government Regulation draft on the Protection of Indonesian migrant fishers According to the SBMI-Greenpeace Investigation Report Paper regarding data during 2015-2020 there were at least 11 Indonesian crew members who were victims of forced labour and even died on foreign ships It is not uncommon for their bodies to be thrown into the high seas Activists Swim to Oil Rig in Denmark Four Greenpeace Denmark activists hold up banners reading “Fossils or Our Future” while swimming with the oil platform Dan Bravo in the background The activists have swum from the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior across the Dan oil field in the Danish North Sea to peacefully occupy the Dan Bravo oil rig to demand an immediate ban on all further oil and gas exploration in Denmark followed by a complete phase-out of domestic fossil fuel production and a massive expansion of clean offshore wind power Greenpeace Russia activists hold a banner reading “The world is changing with the industrial landscape of Norilsk in the background Norilsk is the world’s northernmost city with 150,000 inhabitants and is the second-largest city (after Murmansk) inside the Arctic Circle It is one of the only three large cities in the continuous permafrost zone and the most polluted city in Russia There are a lot of ecological problems (air pollution dumping of polluted water) due to the mining and metallurgical plants owned by Norilsk Nickel Greenpeace USA activists sail out on the San Francisco Bay with a message for American Congress and the oil industry The activists display a banner reading “Oil Is Over The Future Is Up to You” next to the Amazon Flacon one of the dozens of crude oil tankers stuck off the California coast as the oil industry grinds to a halt This action comes as Congress begins negotiations on the next coronavirus (COVID-19) stimulus package and as the oil industry unleashes a lobbying frenzy in hopes of securing taxpayer dollars to prop up its obsolete business model multi-sectoral protest at the University of the Philippines ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) Greenpeace Philippines is calling out the Duterte administration for failing to bring about more inclusive especially in light of its militarized response to the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts to silence critical opinion and dissent Climate Strike with Light Painting during Coronavirus in Berlin In support of Fridays For Future’s first global digital climate strike a Greenpeace activist released ghost images of a climate demonstration in the early hours of the morning on the open space in front of the Reichstag in Berlin he showed climate activist Greta Thunberg and scenes from last year’s large-scale climate strike demonstrations The activists use a pixel stick to paint their message during the darker hours From a powerful projection in California to one in downtown Toronto here are a few of our favourite images from Greenpeace's work around the world this week President Trump has actively dismantled and weakened environmental protection putting corporate profits and power for him and his billionaire friends ahead of people and planet and our future Hannah Stitfall speaks to Dr Bryce Stewart a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist Including the develeopment of lab grown fish Please select which cookies you are willing to store These cookies are required for technical reasons so that you can visit our website and use the functions we offer These cookies are used to recognise you between successive visits and thus provide you with a better experience storing your consent preferences and the last Greenpeace.org website visited We use tracking and analysis tools to ensure continuous optimisation and demand-oriented design of our website These cookies will allow us to collect statistical and anonymised data such as how visitors use our website or which pages are accessed most frequently to ultimately improve Greenpeace.org and provide you with a better experience of our website In addition to the Performance cookies mentioned above we may also place in your browser cookies from third-party services (e.g Facebook or Google) to track the effectiveness of our online marketing strategies and to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests These cookies may also be used to serve advertising to you after you have left our site (retargeting cookies) IPSC enjoyment at the highest level was offered by the team of HPPC e.V (Heidelberg Practical Pistol Club) at this year's GECO IPSC Masters Level III Match which took place from September 11th to September 13th in fantastic weather at the spacious outdoor shooting range in Philippsburg In contrast to the first major events, which took place there in early summer, exhibitors were again admitted. After shooting, for example, visitors could stock up on accessories, take a look at the latest Walther pistol models or find out about the wide range of ammunition offered by match sponsor GECO organizers really did not do things halfway with the 15 courses and put on a great show The previously published stage drawings already indicated that a lot of moving targets had to be expected which indicated that the choice of the right shooting position would be very important This first impression was confirmed on Friday evening when the first shooters had completed the match The 15 stages were divided into two long courses with 32 rounds to be scored each 6 medium courses with 22-24 rounds and seven short courses with 12 rounds each with several moving targets waiting for the shooters in 5 stages The targets ranged from swinger targets and poppers to plates penalty targets or the mere distance to the targets provided excitement On Stage 12 there were 4 IPSC poppers and on Stage 13 an IPSC target that had to be hit at a good 40 metres On stage 12 the distance could be shortened to 10 meters by a courageous sprint but on stage 13 there was no such option and all that remained was "grit your teeth and go for it!” Finally 2 single handed stages did their part to keep the difficulty of the stages at a constant high level this year's GECO IPSC Masters ended on Sunday afternoon unfortunately without an award ceremony and also without the usual raffle at the end of the respective shooting day GECO as match sponsor did not want to let the participating shooters leave empty-handed and thought of another solution the Range Crew distributed tickets to the shooters on all days of the event and the lucky winners could later receive their prize personally at the GECO information stand The strongest group was the Production Division with a total of 128 athletes and the victory went to the Portuguese Miguel Ramos ahead of the two German shooters Stefan Rohoff (95.33 %) and Kai Simon (94.68 %) he won big the overall and seniors' ranking and the Belgian Tom Saudemont completed the podium often referred to as the Formula 1 of shooting sports the Dutchman Dylan Keppel prevailed over Luis Erhardt from Germany and the Swiss veteran Remo Schraner the Open Division is becoming increasingly thin which is probably due in no small part to the introduction of the two new Production Optics divisions These also offer the luxury of a red dot sight but the limitation to Production Division compliant guns makes entry and maintenance much easier and cheaper The only difference between Production Optics and Production Optics Light Divisions is that in the latter the gun including the red dot sight and with empty magazine which is intended to encourage the use of modern polymer guns a total of 57 participants opted for these two new divisions with a majority of 41 shooters opting for the non-weight-limited variant In this division Frankonia team shooter Nils Nothnagel won again with his CZ Shadow 2 Optical Ready ahead of his team mate Arne Lentz and Robin Leypoldt In the Production Optics Light Division the Walther team shooter Marijan Loch won with a Q5 match ahead of Benjamin Brändle and Michael Schütz Only the two nostalgic-looking Revolver (12 shooters) and Classic (26 shooters) divisions remain Tom Kronawitter won in the wheelgun category with a fabulous lead of more than 16% and the division of classic 1911 pistols with a slim grip for single stack magazines was won by Michael Hoiss with a conceivably narrow lead of less than 0.8% over the Swiss Hampi Brosch Deutschlandinfo@vsmedien.de International contact to all4shooters.com:info@all4shooters.com The international editorial team General Terms and Conditions Terms of Use Colophon Contacts Privacy Policy "The dismantling programme for the fifth and last nuclear power plant in Baden-Württemberg has thus been approved in all sub-scopes within the framework of nuclear law," EnBW said The company had previously obtained decommissioning permits for Neckarwestheim 1 the Obrigheim plant and for units 1 and 2 of the Philippsburg plant EnBW applied in July 2016 for a permit to decommission and dismantle Neckarwestheim 2.  "EnBW is thus the first operator of nuclear power plants in Germany for whose nuclear power plants all dismantling permits have been obtained," the company said EnBW is the only operator in Germany to date that has already received dismantling approval for two plants before they were finally shut down EnBW had done this for the first time for Philippsburg 2 and was now able to repeat this for Neckarwestheim 2" the approval can be challenged during the appeal period of one month at the Mannheim Administrative Court" the 13th amendment of the Nuclear Power Act came into effect which underlined the political will to phase out nuclear power in Germany eight units were closed down immediately: EnBW's Phillipsburg 1 and Neckarwestheim 1; EOn's Isar 1 and Unterweser; RWE's Biblis A and B and Vattenfall's Brunsbüttel and Krümmel The remaining reactors were scheduled to shut by the end of 2022 the German federal cabinet approved an executive decision by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to allow the country's three remaining nuclear power plants to continue operating beyond the end of 2022 It approved a draft amendment to the Atomic Energy Act which enables the Emsland Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 plants to operate until 15 April 2023 at the latest "This means that Neckarwestheim 2 can be quickly shut down and dismantled after the statutory end of power operation on April 15 2023," said Environment Minister Thekla Walker will closely and intensively accompany the dismantling that is now beginning" Neckarwestheim 2 is a 1400 MWe pressurised water reactor that began operating in 1989 It generated more than 11 TWh of electricity in 2022 Unit 1 of the Neckarwestheim plant was shut down in 2011 and has been dismantled since 2017 "Today's receipt of the dismantling permit for Neckarwestheim 2 is not only an important step for the Neckarwestheim site but also a strong signal that EnBW is serious about implementing the energy transition," said Jörg Michels Managing Director of the EnBW nuclear power division to ensure the safe and speedy decommissioning of our nuclear power plants our strategy was designed to obtain these approvals Now we are the first in Germany to have all the necessary permits We are very proud of this and would like to thank all of our colleagues who have made this possible with their years of commitment" the fuel still remaining in the storage pool of unit 2 has been packed into 40 casks and transported to the onsite interim storage facility of BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenstorage mbH "This means that another important milestone in the dismantling of the Philippsburg nuclear power plant has been reached - and with it a valuable gain in safety," said Environment Minister Thekla Walker "It is now a matter of continuing to implement the nuclear phase-out in Baden-Württemberg in a consistent and safety-oriented manner" Philippsburg unit 1 has been fuel-free since 2016 and is in the advanced phase of dismantling The dismantling of central parts of unit 2 can now also begin More than 5,000 tonnes of fuel processed by Orano in France The 13th and final rail shipment carrying vitrified high-level nuclear waste (HLW) reached an intermediate storage facility at the Philippsburg nuclear power station site in central Germany on 20 November French nuclear fuel cycle company Orano said The transport settles all commitments relating to contracts for the recycling of used fuel signed between Orano and German utilities PreussenElektra Contracts for the treatment of used fuel were signed with the four German utilities between 1977 and 1991 Those contracts resulted in the recycling of fuel elements from German nuclear reactors and the conditioning of residual waste 5,310 tonnes of fuel were processed at Orano’s La Hague plant in northern France In accordance with the terms of the contracts the equivalent in mass and radioactivity of waste contained in the used fuel elements was to be returned to Germany The waste had been in France since at least 2004 In 2005 Germany stopped the transport overseas of irradiated fuel Germany’s federal ministry for the environment nature conservation and nuclear safety (BMU) said German nuclear power plant operators were obliged to take back radioactive waste that was generated in France during the reprocessing at La Hague of spent fuel elements from German nuclear power plants Nuclear power is often hailed as a magic bullet solution for the rapid and large-scale decarbonisation of our societies which we all know needs to happen if we have any hope of mitigating the worst effects of the unfolding climate emergency it is consistently favoured over meaningful investment in renewable energy systems bolstered with misleading claims of its safety With the costs and efficiency of renewable energy solutions improving year on year and the effects of our rapidly changing climate accelerating across the globe we need to take an honest look at some of the myths being perpetuated by the nuclear industry and its supporters Here are six reasons why nuclear power is not the way to a green and peaceful zero carbon future we need to reduce fossil fuels in the total energy mix well before 2050 to 0% According to scenarios from the World Nuclear Association and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (both nuclear lobby organisations) doubling the capacity of nuclear power worldwide in 2050 would only decrease greenhouse gas emissions by around 4% the world would need to bring 37 new large nuclear reactors to the grid every year from now Doubling nuclear capacity – different from the explosive growth of clean renewable energy sources like solar and wind – is therefore unrealistic And that for only 4% when we already need to reduce 100% Nuclear factories and plants are easy targets for malevolent acts: terrorist threats the risk of unintentional or voluntary airliner crashes The enclosures of plants and certain ancillary buildings containing radioactive materials are not designed to withstand this type of attack or shock a major war is being waged in a country with multiple nuclear reactors and thousands of tons of highly radioactive spent fuel The war in southern Ukraine around Zaporizhzhia puts them all at heightened risk of a severe accident Nuclear power plants are some of the most complex and sensitive industrial installations, which require a very complex set of resources in ready state at all times to keep them operational. This cannot be guaranteed in a war Russia's invasion poses historic nuclear threat, with Ukraine's 15 commercial nuclear reactors including Europe's largest plant at risk of catastrophic damage that could render vast areas of Europe uninhabitable for decades, new analysis shows https://t.co/y3JNnPwA01 we must abate the most carbon at the least cost and in the least time The cost of generating solar power ranges from $36 to $44 per megawatt-hour (MWh) the World Nuclear Industry Status Report said while onshore wind power comes in at $29–$56 per MWh Nuclear energy costs between $112 and $189 per MWh the World Nuclear Industry Status Report estimates levelised costs – which compare the total lifetime cost of building and running a plant to lifetime output – for utility-scale solar have dropped by 88% and for wind by 69% these costs have increased by 23% for nuclear.* According to a November 2021 study released by Greenpeace France and the Rousseau Institute power from the under-construction European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) at Flamanville in France would be 3 times as expensive as the country’s most competitive renewable sources The 2021 World Nuclear Industry Status Report estimates that since 2009 the average construction time for reactors worldwide was just under 10 years well above the estimate given by the World Nuclear Association (WNA) industry body of between 5 and 8.5 years The extra time that nuclear plants take to build has major implications for climate goals, as existing fossil-fueled plants continue to emit CO2 while awaiting substitution. The construction of a nuclear plant is a long and complex process that obviously releases CO2, as does the demolition of decommissioned nuclear sites.  Uranium extraction, transport and processing is obviously not free of greenhouse gas emissions either nuclear power stations score comparable with wind and solar energy But this latter can be implemented much faster and on a much bigger scale We cannot wait for another decade for emissions to go down With clean renewable sources and energy efficiency The multiple stages of the nuclear fuel cycle produce large volumes of radioactive waste No government has yet resolved how to safely manage this waste Some of this nuclear waste is highly radioactive and will remain so for several thousand years Nuclear waste is a real scourge for our environment and for future generations who will still have the responsibility of managing it in several centuries Countries like France are pushing hard for nuclear power at the EU level Revealed: French companies are exporting nuclear waste to Siberia, dumping barrels in unsafe conditions completely exposed to the elements.This isn't a throwback to the 1980s, this is happening in 2021.Nuclear is not, and never will be, a 'green' energy source.#NoNukes pic.twitter.com/Hs1TJjLkX5 This so-called “next-generation nuclear reactor”, has also sustained multiple problems, delays and cost overruns in France, the United Kingdom, Finland and China Hypothetical new nuclear power technologies have been promised to be the next big thing for the last forty years, but in spite of massive public subsidies, that prospect has never panned out. That is also true for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).  And for nuclear fusion, an idea that is as old as the nuclear industry which somehow always seems to be fifty years away The cost and uncertainty of fusion mean investing in thermonuclear reactors at the expense of other available clean energy options and the money would be better invested elsewhere Let’s exert the utmost caution when presented with pro-nuclear opinions coming from experts and organisations regularly working with stakeholders from the nuclear sector and potentially tainted by vested interests It is more important than ever that we steer away from false solutions and leave nuclear power in the past Mehdi Leman is a content editor for Greenpeace International based in France Mehdi Leman is a Content Editor for Greenpeace International Whether you live in Manila or in Los Angeles you’re already feeling the impacts of the climate crisis Scientific studies confirm Big Oil’s greenhouse gas emissions makes catastrophes significantly more likely to occur Recall the scene from the film Her (2013) when Theodore meets his AI lover in the cloud and they embark on a romance through endless conversations As governments and communities around the world face growing costs from devastating climate impacts there’s a looming elephant in the room: The billionaire-polluter class has never had it so good output from the 1392 MWe pressurised water reactor was gradually reduced by the stepwise insertion of the control rods into the reactor core EnBW said this process - the same as that carried out prior to planned annual maintenance and refuelling outages - went "technically as planned and without any special features" Philippsburg 2 was initially connected to the grid on 17 December 1984 and began commercial operation in April the following year the unit has generated about 10 terawatt-hours of electricity annually and over 355 TWh during its operating lifetime The unit has met around one-sixth of the German state of Baden-Württemberg's total electricity requirements and provided power to about two-thirds of private households in the state EnBW submitted an application in early 2016 to the Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of Environment for decommissioning and dismantling Philippsburg 2 The utility was granted that permit on 19 December The dismantling of unit will begin with the transfer of used fuel from the reactor's core to its storage pool Dismantling of the primary coolant lines is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year EnBW expects the dismantling of the entire unit to take around 10 to 15 years Philippsburg 1 - an 890 MWe boiling water reactor which began operating in 1979 - was among the eight oldest German reactors taken out of service at the order of Chancellor Angela Merkel days after a tsunami hit Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 units 1 and 2 of the Philippsburg plant generated a total of 570 TWh of electricity over the past 40 years said: "Together we have ensured 40 years of safe electricity production at the Philippsburg site with units 1 and 2 unit 2 will focus on safe and speedy dismantling - as has been the case with unit 1 since 2017 We are happy to be able to tackle this task with our experienced and competent employees to whom we can open up an interesting professional perspective following electricity production." the renewables expansion is not sufficiently rapid to meet Germany’s generation targets for 2030,” Berlin-based Agora said in an annual analysis Agora Energiewende said electricity generation from nuclear was constant in 2019 but declined at the start of 2020 as the 1,402 MW Philippsburg-2 nuclear power plant was shut down on 31 December 2019 in accordance with the nuclear phaseout legislation Germany now has six in commercial nuclear power plants in operation producing around 10% of its electricity.  Thirty units have been permanently shut down Agora Energiewende director Patrick Graichen said “We need to build more renewables to offset the phaseout of nuclear power up to 2022 and also generate enough electricity for electric vehicles and heat pumps.” Germany’s last commercial nuclear plants are due to be shut by the end of 2022 leaving the country struggling to plug the gap in its electricity generation and meet its climate targets as it prepares to abolish its coal industry Business leaders and conservative politicians have begun to demand a stay of execution for nuclear amid rising energy costs and a looming shortfall in capacity said earlier this month that Germany will stick to its planned phaseout apparently seeking to end speculation about an extension for the remaining plants Germany will have to replace more than 40% of its electricity sources over the next two decades Coal-fired power stations still account for more than a third of its generation with the seven remaining nuclear plants supplying about a tenth After the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident Germany decided to shut down the country’s nuclear fleet by 2022.  Earlier this year several high-profile German industrialists argued that the government’s decision to phase out nuclear power was a mistake One of them was VW Group chairman Herbert Diess who said: “If we’re really serious about climate protection the nuclear power plants should run for longer.” In August Die Welt newspaper said in an editorial that to remain at the forefront of European energy and climate policy Germany must be open to all low-carbon technologies Jason Murdock is a staff reporter for Newsweek.  Murdock previously covered cybersecurity for the International Business Times UK and B2B tech for V3.co.uk Winner of The Drum's 'Digital Writer of the Year' award in 2017. Contact: j.murdock@newsweek.com either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Drone footage shows the moment when two massive cooling towers at a former nuclear power plant in Germany were demolished in a controlled explosion Operator EnBW confirmed a demolition at the Philippsburg site was initiated by targeted blasts in lower area of ​​the towers and took place shortly after 6 a.m a scene which lacked spectators due to COVID-19 restrictions Officials described the change as being an "important milestone" in the nation's energy transition moving it one step closer to a greater reliance on renewables Germany aims to see all nuclear plant reactors taken offline by the end of 2022 The Philippsburg power plants' reactors were previously shuttered in 2011 and 2019 as part of those plans a subsidiary managing the state's electricity grid to house a converter that will bring power generated from renewable energies from the north to the south "Two relics of the nuclear power era are gone: a visible sign that the nuclear phase-out is progressing in Germany," tweeted environment minister Svenja Schulze "The last nuclear power plant will also be switched off by 2022 The future lies in renewable energies that are safer once used to contain residual heat from the nuclear facility came down within seconds of each other in the blasts As they collapsed into themselves in less than one minute footage shows huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky Today, the cooling towers of the nuclear plant in Philippsburg, Germany were demolished using explosives.Drone footage from above the towers when it happened.Source: https://t.co/QpOdkJf0jK pic.twitter.com/LDQTPpTK9l These are the most vivid and amazing pictures of the phaseout of nuclear energy in #Germany - blasting of the two cooling towers in #Philippsburg. Footage via @EnBW https://t.co/2iHoSDOcHs Zwei Relikte des Atomkraft-Zeitalters sind weg: Ein sichtbares Zeichen, dass der Atomausstieg in Deutschland vorankommt. Bis 2022 wird auch das letzte AKW abgeschaltet. Die Zukunft liegt in erneuerbaren Energien, die sicherer, kostengünstiger und nachhaltiger sind. #Philippsburg pic.twitter.com/rKT4uqWLnA known as "drop blasting," had been practiced more than 50 times in Germany when demolishing cooling towers The operator apologized for not releasing the demolition date to the public in advance but said it had been a necessary secrecy as gatherings of people are not allowed due to government policies in place to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus "Originally there was no question that we would announce the date of the demolition and enable interested citizens of the region to watch the case of the cooling towers," said Jörg Michels "The coronavirus pandemic and the associated government regulations then forced us to completely change our approach but after weighing up all aspects it was clear that the energy transition and health protection must have priority the Ministry of the Environment and the surrounding communities and districts not to announce the exact date and time of the explosion in advance I ask for your understanding of this procedure again." The demolition was carried out and monitored by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment and independent experts working on behalf of the state German officials made the decision to scrap nuclear power in 2011 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power station explosion in Japan, the BBC reported The Baden-Württemberg ministry explains on its website the move posed challenges for its industrial region as its energy supply was once 50 percent from nuclear Officials are now investing in renewable sources authorities say renewable energies should cover 25 percent of its final energy demand heat and fuels are supposed to come from renewable sources," the ministry said "Electricity and heat are now to be gradually converted to renewable sources," it said "The overriding principle is and remains a secure power supply The general public must be provided with a safe efficient and sustainable supply of electricity and gas which relies more and more on renewable energy." Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all a total of over 429 shooters from 18 nations sent more than 165,594 projectiles into the bullet traps of the well-known shooting sports facility in Philippsburg with their 386 scoring shots on a total of 20 stages in terms of organization the Infinity Open presented itself from its best side again this year all4shooters.com authors Tanja and Marijan Loch were there for you live experienced everything up close and they also shot – here is their report The ease with which the team around Patrick Kummer and Jürgen Öffner runs the match every year almost makes you forget what a major organizational effort is behind a competition of this size has become a must-attend event for many top-class IPSC shooters from all over Europe But also outside Europe the match has meanwhile its loyal followers so that participants were sighted among other things from Israel countless top European shooters graced the match organizers with their presence and sought out the challenge with the competition A perfect preparation for the upcoming IPSC European Championship in Corinth Robin Sebo or Giacomo Bolzoni were on the starting list everything that has rank and name in Germany could not be missing at this top-class match It is therefore not particularly surprising that the match was once again fully booked in record time The online registration platform server was stretched to its limits and a second match could have been organized with the shooters on the waiting list alone in which our all4shooters.com author team Tanja and Marijan Loch (4th and 2nd from the right) together with match director and GECO team shooter Patrick Kummer (center back) and record World/European Champion Eric Grauffel (squatting) from France were allowed to compete in the Infinity Open 2023 What Patrick Kummer and his setup team conjure up year after year at the Infinity Open at the Philippsburg range can only be described as pure IPSC pleasure On the total of 20 stages of this year's anniversary edition there was just about everything that makes the heart of an IPSC shooter beat faster and makes this sport so incredibly attractive Whether it is the quick change from groups of targets to be shot at to small steel drop targets or to targets partly concealed by penalty targets – which requires the highest degree of accuracy - or whether it is the running paths designed for complex changes of direction The Infinity Open offers all this and much more numerous stages were peppered with moving target setups which at times required not only a quick trigger finger but above all a great deal of tactical skill in order to determine the optimal target sequence you'll lose a handful of match points in no time three targets (so-called movers) as well as an ascending and descending target (known as a pop-up target in IPSC jargon) awaited the participants Two of the movers moved together from the shooter's point of view from left to right while the third mover moved away from the shooter's point of view but also continuously changed the angle to the target due to the shooting position being shifted to the side hitting these three targets was not the challenge but rather a question of which and how many other targets could be shot at beforehand This was because the movers were each triggered by large steel drop targets (IPSC poppers) and valuable time elapsed between the steel target falling over the associated release of the moving target and its appearance in the shooter's field of view And IPSC shooters like to use this "waiting time" for other things – such as shooting at other targets the following tactic turned out to be the best way: when the shooter reached the firing position the steel activator target was fired at first followed by another IPSC popper and the pop-up target before the two movers moving in the transverse direction were each given two scoring hits IPSC shooting is much more than just shooting weighing different solutions and adjusting to ever-changing problems – because hardly any two IPSC stages are alike – are among the skills that a successful IPSC shooter must master at the top of his or her game And demanding matches like the Infinity Open are characterized by the fact that they challenge the participants in this area as well So if you want to take on the real challenges of IPSC shooting There you will also find further information about the Greek gun laws Because other EU countries have different legal bases for firearms possession and transport What else applies to the transport of sports equipment in or through the area of application of the German gun law 2 of WaffG states that you do not need a (further) permit to transport a firearm if you "transport it from one place to another not ready to fire and not ready to access provided that the transport of the firearm is for a purpose covered by need or in connection with it" Deutschlandinfo@vsmedien.de International contact to all4shooters.com:info@all4shooters.com Berlin had announced an end to nuclear power in Germany following the Fukushima disaster that hit Japan in March 2011 This came just months after Chancellor Angela Merkel's government of the time had finished signing new deals with nuclear power operators extending their running times Germany Dropping Nuclear EnergyTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The payout compensates companies for residual electricity volumes that they can no longer generate and their investments that were affected by Merkel's decision.  Eon/PreussenElektra and Enb are set to receive the payout, according to a joint statement from the ministries for environment Around €1.42 billion will go to Vattenfall, €880 million to RWE, €80 million to EnBW and €42.5 million to E.ON /PreussenElektra.  Germany began using nuclear energy commercially which was later met by mass protests after the Three Mile Island accident in the United States.   In 2002, then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder started a plan to phase out nuclear energy after negotiations with power plant operators.    Merkel, however, had different plans. The chancellor announced reversing the phaseout in 2010. Fukushima prompted Merkel to U-turn on her atomic energy plans a year later companies owning power plants have filed multiple lawsuits over lost profits.   Energy giants sue German government over nuclear lawTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Over the last decade, Germany worked towards shutting down its 17 nuclear plants, with the last one set to be dismantled in 2022.  The biggest Level III Match in Germany is of great importance The starting places at the GECO IPSC Masters 2023 were allocated extremely quickly this time: It was one of the few matches that participants from the ranks of the Federation of German Marksmen (BDS) can use to qualify for the IPSC Handgun World Championship 2025 in South Africa Our IPSC-affine shooters Tanja and Marijan Loch from the all4shooters.com team were there for you You can read their competition report here György Batki and Csaba Szászi were at the start for GECO But GECO plays a very important role in this year's IPSC European Championships too GECO is supplying the official match ammunition in a wide variety of calibers such as .38 Super .357 Magnum or 9mm Luger directly to the European Championships in Corinth What made the GECO IPSC Masters 2023 in Philippsburg and which matches still play a role for the qualification for the IPSC World Championship 2025 we have summarized here for you.GECO IPSC Masters 2023 as qualifier match for the World Championship 2025 Here we have summarized for you what made the GECO IPSC Masters 2023 in Philippsburg special and which matches still play a role in qualifying for the IPSC World Championship 2025 the umbrella organization BDS (Bund Deutscher Sportschützen which is responsible for IPSC shooting in Germany on the occasion of the upcoming IPSC World Championship 2025 in South Africa announced that it would like to rely for the first time on so-called qualifier matches for the highly coveted starting place allocation The following mandatory dates were set: German Championship 2023 as well as the German Championship 2024 and the GECO IPSC Masters 2024 Applicants who want to compete in the German national team for the BDS at the IPSC World Championship 2025 in South Africa must also submit ONE additional result from ONE of the following events with their application: GECO IPSC Masters 2023 Rooster Mountain 2024 or Extreme Euro Open 2024 No wonder that the starting places for the GECO IPSC Masters 2023 were even more coveted among German shooters than in previous years the organizers were able to register no less than 446 starters Everything that has rank and name in the IPSC field in Germany was there numerous top shooters from abroad wanted to have a say in the fight for the top places Especially since the opportunity to shoot such a large and technically demanding match in the hot preparation phase before the upcoming European Championships was very convenient for many This ensured plenty of competition on the 15 stages Match participants could comfortably register on the stages and were provided directly on site with everything they needed such as equipment sheets or stickers for the score book the level demanded on most stages can be described as very high bobbers or turners were waiting for the shooters on almost every stage several such targets had to be mastered on one stage distances of sometimes more than 40 meters or shooting with a weak hand provided plenty of adrenaline for the participants shooters were also spoiled with culinary delights by Ewa Bartczyszyn the Winkler IPSC target store and of course GECO provided distraction from the demanding match actions during the short breaks first aid kits or red dot sights and scopes were raffled off among all match participants every day many of the participants could look forward to winnings from the lottery pot more than 124,880 rounds found their way into the bullet traps at the GECO Masters shooting range in Philippsburg The most popular division of the match weekend was the Production Optics Division with over 115 participants Dutch shooter Dylan Keppel was able to impress in the medal hunt Emile Obriot from France joined him in second place and Arne Lentz shooter in Frankonia's Topshot Team completed the podium in third place 112 shooters start in the Production Division the German KMR shooter Alexander Fleischer was successful from the Bullet Brother Team took second place on the podium closely followed by third-placed Sebastien Armendariz In the Standard Division a total of 106 participants competed just ahead of the runner-up in the Standard Ladies Division Andreas Pfeiffer from the Atlas Shooting Team beat 68 other Open shooters to win the popular President Medal He was followed by GECO team shooter Luis Erhardt in second place and Thomas Winter in third place GECO team shooter Sascha Back is a passionate revolver shooter and beat Dutch shooter Eric Cornelissen and Günther Knaus out of a total of 19 revolver shooters.In the Classic Division 22 shooters fought for the first place GECO team shooter György Batki won against his team mate Patrick Kummer Vitalij Melehov completed the podium with his third place Deutschlandinfo@vsmedien.de International contact to all4shooters.com:info@all4shooters.com Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. 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