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Minimal Energy: Lingen im Modell von schräg oben

Simulazione · Minimal Energy · Coal and nuclear

Lingen

The whole nuclear era in one place as a walkable model: the Lingen nuclear plant of 1968, the Emsland nuclear plant until April 2023, interim storage and dismantling – next to them gas, a battery and hydrogen.

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Real are terrain and buildings (LGLN Lower Saxony, OpenStreetMap) and the plants with capacity and years. The position of the interim store, the cooling water and hydrogen lines are schematic; the progress of dismantling is not documented year by year; what each plant delivers now comes from the model. With your data it shows more, such as the dismantling step by step or the hydrogen actually produced.

Nuclear power and dismantling in Lingen: here the whole nuclear era lies in one place. The Lingen nuclear plant, a boiling water reactor with a fossil-fired superheater, ran from 1968 to January 1977 and has been dismantled since 2015, a process lasting into the 2030s. The Emsland nuclear plant, a pressurised water reactor with 1,335 MW net and about 11 billion kWh a year, was one of Germany’s last three nuclear plants and went offline on 15 April 2023.

The chain of the place: in the Emsland plant fission heated water into steam, and water from the Ems replaces what evaporates in the cooling tower. The spent fuel waits in the interim store for a final repository; the store has existed since December 2002 and has been in federal hands since 2019. The gas plant steps in when wind and sun are missing, and the Hanekenfähr substation, once the outlet for nuclear power, is today the inlet for wind power from the coast.

Since 2023 a 14 MW pilot electrolyser has used wind power to split treated Ems water into hydrogen and oxygen. Combined-cycle unit D is designed for up to 5 % hydrogen in the fuel, and a 45 MW battery charges on wind and solar surplus. The event ‘End of nuclear power’ runs the year past 15 April 2023. For operators, municipalities, chambers, schools, universities, museums and those shaping structural change.

The chain of the place

  1. 01

    Fission: In the Emsland nuclear plant fission heated water into steam, until April 2023.

  2. 02

    Cooling: Water from the Ems replaces what evaporates in the cooling tower.

  3. 03

    Storing: The spent fuel waits in the interim store for a final repository.

  4. 04

    Gas as back-up: The gas plant steps in when wind and sun are missing.

  5. 05

    Hydrogen: With surplus wind power the electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.

  6. 06

    Dismantling: The old Lingen nuclear plant from 1968 has been dismantled since 2015.

What is shown – why – for whom

Cosa viene mostrato Perché Per chi
The chain Fission – Cooling – Storing – Gas as back-up – Hydrogen – Dismantling Perchéexplains six stages of energy in one place Per chiSchools, visitors
Event ‘End of nuclear power’ Perchéshows 15 April 2023 in the running year Per chiThe public, museums
Diagram ‘The nuclear plants’ Perchéshows every nuclear plant from start-up to shutdown Per chiTeaching, exhibitions
Diagram ‘Capacity of this place 1975–2025’ Perchéshows the installed capacity of the site per year by source Per chiMunicipalities, economic development
Diagram ‘Imports and exports’ Perchéshows power across the borders to the neighbours Per chiGrid planning, policymakers
Diagram ‘Power mix 1975–2025’ Perchéshows how generation by source shifts over fifty years Per chiUniversities, associations
Switch off: Kernkraftwerk Emsland Perchéshows who steps in and how CO₂ and imports change Per chiPlanning, teaching

Facilities and areas in the model

  • Kernkraftwerk Emsland

    Pressurised water reactor with 1,335 MW net, from June 1988 to 15 April 2023, about 11 billion kWh a year. It was one of Germany's last three nuclear plants.

  • Zwischenlager Lingen

    On-site interim storage since December 2002, in federal hands since 2019. The casks stay here while the plant is dismantled.

  • Kernkraftwerk Lingen (KWL)

    Boiling water reactor with a fossil-fired superheater, 1968 to January 1977. Then decommissioning, safe enclosure from 1988 to 2015, dismantling since 2015 into the 2030s.

  • Gaskraftwerk Emsland B/C

    Two units of 475 MW each from 1973/74, gas turbines renewed in 2012. Cooling towers 123 m each (OpenStreetMap); their attribution to the units is assumed.

  • Gas-und-Dampf-Block D

    Combined-cycle unit with 887 MW since 2010, designed for up to 5 % hydrogen in the fuel.

  • Batteriespeicher Emsland

    45 MW since January 2023 (OpenStreetMap), together with Werne part of a large battery. Charges on wind and solar surplus.

  • Pilot-Elektrolyse

    14 MW pilot plant since 2023 (10 MW pressurised alkaline, 4 MW PEM): wind power splits treated Ems water into hydrogen and oxygen. The 300 MW large plant follows from late 2025.

  • Umspannanlage Hanekenfähr

    380/220/110 kV: once the outlet for nuclear power, today the inlet for wind power from the coast.

Processes in the model

The chain of the place

  1. 01Fission: In the Emsland nuclear plant fission heated water into steam, until April 2023.
  2. 02Cooling: Water from the Ems replaces what evaporates in the cooling tower.
  3. 03Storing: The spent fuel waits in the interim store for a final repository.
  4. 04Gas as back-up: The gas plant steps in when wind and sun are missing.
  5. 05Hydrogen: With surplus wind power the electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.
  6. 06Dismantling: The old Lingen nuclear plant from 1968 has been dismantled since 2015.

One day

  1. 01“Play the day”
  2. 02the sun moves, wind and demand change every hour
  3. 03the stacks above the plants grow and shrink
  4. 04storage charges and discharges

Fifty years

  1. 01▶ at the year (time travel)
  2. 021975
  3. 031990
  4. 042015
  5. 052025
  6. 06plants appear, run, are shut down and dismantled; the history of the place jumps to every year

Intervene

  1. 01tap Kernkraftwerk Emsland
  2. 02“Switch off”
  3. 03the top shows who steps in
  4. 04back with “All on again”

How a site in transition can use the model

  • Operations and dismantling

    Reactor, cooling tower, interim store, gas plant, battery and electrolyser on one site. The values name for every plant what runs, what stands still and what has been removed.

    Per chiOperators, dismantling and site planning

  • Municipality and economy

    What comes after the nuclear plant? Time travel shows what is added: combined-cycle unit D, a battery, the pilot electrolyser. The 300 MW large plant follows from late 2025.

    Per chiMunicipalities, economic development, chambers and associations

  • Schools and universities

    How is hydrogen made from wind power, how is a nuclear plant dismantled? The six steps from fission to dismantling fly to each part, and it lights up.

    Per chiTeachers, pupils, students

  • Museums and exhibitions

    The diagram ‘The nuclear plants’ shows every nuclear plant from start-up to shutdown. Lingen appears twice: in 1968 with an early plant, in 2023 among the last three.

    Per chiMuseums, exhibitions, local history

  • Public communication

    The event ‘End of nuclear power’ runs past 15 April 2023: the steam above the cooling tower disappears, the plant turns grey. With ‘Switch off’ the model shows who steps in instead.

    Per chiPublic relations, public dialogue, policymakers

What you can change

Controls

  • Year 1975–2025: plants appear and disappear, mix and grid change; ▶ lets the years run.
  • Season: snow, foliage, meadows, chimney smoke; more heat and power demand in winter, more sun in summer.
  • Time of day: sun position, dusk, night with windows and street lights; demand follows the daily profile.
  • Wind: rotors turn faster, sea state, smoke plumes lie flat; wind power rises, curtailment in a storm.
  • Sun: clouds and soft shadows; photovoltaics deliver more or less.
  • Demand (households, industry): more lit windows, plant lighting, chimney smoke; more expensive plants step in.
  • Views: power, heat, fuels, storage, CO₂ – each with its own columns, stacks and values.

Events

  • End of nuclear power: On 15 April 2023 the last three nuclear plants went offline, including Emsland in Lingen. The year runs past that day in a moment. Look for: the steam above the cooling tower disappears, the plant turns grey.
  • Winter evening without wind or sun (tiles): Season winter, evening, calm, overcast: demand peaks, the stacks above wind and solar shrink, fossil plants, storage and imports carry the load.
  • Stormy night (tiles): Night, gale, low demand: wind delivers more than is needed, storage charges, surplus is curtailed or exported.
  • Switch off: Kernkraftwerk Emsland: The model calculates without this plant; the top shows who steps in, CO₂ and imports change.

What the model gives a site in transition

  • 01

    An era in one place

    Construction, operation, shutdown and dismantling side by side: the early plant of 1968, the plant that went offline in 2023 and the interim store that keeps the casks.

  • 02

    What comes next

    Gas plant, battery and pilot electrolyser show how the site is being rebuilt: when there is plenty of wind, the electrolyser turns power into hydrogen for industry.

  • 03

    Calculated every hour

    ‘Play the day’ moves sun, wind and demand hour by hour, and above the plants a stack of cubes shows the power now. In the stormy night the storage charges.

  • 04

    A grid that changes direction

    The 380/220/110 kV Hanekenfähr substation shows the turn: once the outlet for nuclear power, today the inlet for wind power from the coast.

  • 05

    In the browser and on the big screen

    A browser is enough, and large projections work too. Eleven more places and the map of Germany are part of the same model, designed by an artist and developer.

Your site in transition as a model

Would you like to show your site with dismantling, back-up and new plants this way, with your own figures? Write to us or give us a call, and we will discuss which data the model needs. We will send you the password to the simulation on request.

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Chiedere informazioni

Minimal Energy: Lingen

I dati vanno solo a questo sito e servono unicamente a risponderle.

Basis and limits

Real are terrain and buildings (LGLN Lower Saxony, OpenStreetMap) and the plants with capacity and years. The position of the interim store, the cooling water and hydrogen lines are schematic; the progress of dismantling is not documented year by year.

Public sources the model is based on:

  • LGLN Niedersachsen (CC BY 4.0)
  • OpenStreetMap-Mitwirkende (ODbL)
  • BASE Stilllegungsliste (07/2026); Netto: Wikipedia (sekundär); Koordinate: Wikidata
  • OPSD; Wikipedia: Liste fossil-thermischer Kraftwerke (sekundär); Koordinate Wikidata

More places in the model

← Minimal Energy

Real are terrain and buildings (LGLN Lower Saxony, OpenStreetMap) and the plants with capacity and years. The position of the interim store, the cooling water and hydrogen lines are schematic; the progress of dismantling is not documented year by year; what each plant delivers now comes from the mo…