Stade, Germany's first purely commercial nuclear plant (1972-2003), was the first closed under the phase-out deal and has been in dismantling since 2005. Nuclear dismantling is complete and conventional demolition is in its final phase, with the exhaust stack blown up in September 2026.
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Current state
| Status | Site restoration |
| Country | Germany |
| Location | Stade, Lower Saxony |
| Site | Stade |
| Units | KKS |
| Unit count | 1 |
| Reactor types | PWR |
| Net capacity (MWe) | 640 |
| Owner / licensee | PreussenElektra (E.ON) |
| Strategy | Immediate dismantling |
| Final shutdown | 2003-11-14 |
| Decommissioning start | 2005 |
| Spent fuel | All fuel removed for reprocessing during post-operation. |
| Notable issue | Dismantling has cost over €1bn, per NDR. |
Notes
Release from nuclear regulation (Entlassung) not yet confirmed in sources. NDR: dismantling a plant like Stade costs over €1bn (no exact figure, so cost not recorded).
Timeline
- 2003-11-14 — Stade was permanently shut down. (source)
- 2005 — Dismantling of the nuclear plant began. (source)
- 2023 — With nuclear dismantling complete, conventional demolition of remaining buildings began. (source)
- 2026 — The final phase of reactor-building demolition began in spring 2026. (source)
- 2026-09-04 — The exhaust stack was due to be demolished by controlled blast. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
Related sites
- Biblis Nuclear Power Plant (Units A and B) Active dismantling · Germany
- Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant (KBR) Active dismantling · Germany
- Brunsbüttel Nuclear Power Plant (KKB) Active dismantling · Germany
- Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Fuel removal · Taiwan
- Chooz A Active dismantling · France
- Crystal River Unit 3 Site restoration · United States
- Doel Nuclear Power Plant (Units 1-3) Shut down · Belgium
- Dounreay (DFR and PFR fast reactors) Active dismantling · United Kingdom
See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →
Sources
- Kernkraftwerk Stade — PreussenElektra (primary), checked 2026-10-11
- Sprengung im Video: Der Kamin des AKW Stade ist gefallen — NDR, checked 2026-10-11
- Nuclear Power in Germany — World Nuclear Association, checked 2026-10-11