RWE to cut Biblis A nuclear plant load

RWE Biblis A Output Reduction sees the Hesse nuclear reactor cut load to 40-50% to conserve quotas under Germany's exit, seeking lifetime extension via quota transfers from Lingen or E.ON's Stade amid energy policy.

German nuclear operator RWE said it will cut production at its Biblis A nuclear plant this weekend to keep it running another year.

Without curtailing output, the 1,225 megawatts reactor in Hesse state would only be able to stay online for another six months under a 10-year old exit deal that predated moves to extend plant lifetimes under later policy shifts, which gave reactors finite volumes and required them to shut after 32 years of operations.

"We will scale Biblis A down to between 40 and 50 percent of total load at the weekend," said Gerd Jaeger, the head of nuclear plants at RWE Power, the group's generation unit, in an interview with Reuters.

"We do not want to create hard facts by making plants exhaust their quota and reach the end of their operations," he said.

The government has said it will agree rules for German reactors, effectively to decide the nuclear future for the sector, under an energy plan in October at the latest, interim results of which may be published in May.

Jaeger said RWE does not want to risk for 35-year old Biblis A — which he said offered safe power generation free of carbon dioxide — to be closed permanently in the meantime.

RWE rival EnBW said a month ago it was reducing output of its reactor Neckarwestheim 1 to extend its remaining lifespan from the spring into the autumn, amid debate over a potential nuclear tax on utilities.

A court decision is still pending on whether RWE may also borrow quotas from its younger Lingen plant to tide Biblis over, following the move to block Vattenfall's Brunsbuettel plan earlier in the debate.

Jaeger also said that RWE was talking to rival E.ON about the possibility of E.ON lending Biblis spare quotas from its Stade reactor, which it closed in 2002, even as some policymakers may consider new nuclear builds in future scenarios.

"We aim to get an agreement as quickly as possible," he said about the talks.

RWE reopened the Biblis A block last weekend after one year of closure for maintenance and revamps.

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