Brokdorf's final nuclear waste casks arrive as plant faces uncertain future

The Brokdorf nuclear power plant has been offline since January 2022. Its final Castor casks, containing reprocessed fuel rods, have now returned to the site. Politicians Jochen Flasbarth and Tobias Goldschmidt marked the arrival of the last transport. Brokdorf’s interim storage facility already holds 76 Castor casks. The plant no longer generates power but still requires energy, now sourced from wind and solar. Operating the storage site cost around €16 million in 2024.

The neighbouring Brunsbüttel interim storage facility lost its operating licence in 2013 over safety issues. Critics of nuclear power continue to question the long-term safety of such sites. The timeline for permanent disposal of the waste remains unclear.

All spent fuel from Brokdorf will stay in interim storage indefinitely. No final repository has been confirmed yet. The return of the last Castor casks marks a key step for Brokdorf. The waste will remain on-site until a permanent solution is found. The cost and safety of interim storage will remain ongoing concerns.