Nach der Kernkraft: Konversionen des Atomzeitalters

Germany’s nuclear power plants loom over its riverine landscapes like memorials. They are built witnesses to an embittered societal and political debate about energy, economy, and faith in technology. In 2011, Germany decided to cease generating nuclear power following the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi. The German Atomic Energy Act envisages that all nuclear power plants will be deconstructed and the land they stand on returned to greenfield land. However, only around 3 percent of the grey energy remaining in these huge constructions is actually radioactive. This book offers a factual introduction to the history of atomic energy, the technologies used, and the options for their removal, as well as informative graphs that provide an overview of all German nuclear reactors. A photo essay by contemporary eyewitness Günter Zint documents the associated protest culture. The volume further proposes seven reuse options for these uncomfortable monuments—n approach that was considered unthinkable for many years.