Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant facts for kids
.JPG)
The Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant is a very special building in Austria. It was the first power plant of its kind built in the country. Even though it was completely finished, it never actually started making electricity!
Contents
Building the Plant
Building the Zwentendorf plant began in April 1972. It was designed to be a boiling-water reactor. This type of reactor uses heat from splitting atoms to boil water. The steam then spins turbines to make electricity. The plant was meant to produce 692 megawatts of power.
Many Austrian electricity companies worked together to build it. The original cost was about 5.2 billion Austrian schilling. This would be around 1.4 billion Euro today. The tall chimney of the plant is 110 metres high.
The Big Vote
The plant was ready to open in 1978. But before it could start, the people of Austria had a big vote. This vote was called a referendum. It happened on November 5, 1978.
People voted on whether the Zwentendorf plant should start working. A very close number of people, 50.47%, voted against it. Because of this vote, the Zwentendorf plant never opened. Also, two other planned nuclear plants were never built.
After this vote, Austria passed a law in 1978. This law made it illegal to build or run nuclear power plants for making electricity. So, no commercial nuclear power plant has ever operated in Austria. A different power station, the Dürnrohr Power Station, was built nearby instead.
What It's Used For Now
The Austrian energy company EVN Group bought the plant in 2005. Today, the Zwentendorf plant is used for many things:
- It is a training center for security.
- It is rented out for filming movies and TV shows.
- People use it for photography and other events.
Research and Solar Power
A special research center is also at the site. It is called the Photovoltaik-Forschungszentrum Zwentendorf. This center works with the Technical University Vienna. It has a large solar power system with 190 kilowatts of power. This system can even follow the sun!
The plant is also used to train people who operate power plants. You can even visit the complex and see it for yourself!
Zwentendorf in Movies
Because it's such a unique and empty power plant, Zwentendorf has been used as a location for several films. Some of these include:
- Grand Central
- Tag der Wahrheit
- Restrisiko
Gallery
-
The Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant during the Save the World Awards in 2009
-
Control rod mechanism on the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel of the Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant
-
View into the reactor pressure vessel
-
Low pressure turbines
-
Control panel in the control room of the Plant
See also
In Spanish: Central nuclear de Zwentendorf para niños
- Anti-nuclear movement in Austria
- Freda Meissner-Blau
- Frieda Berryhill
- Nuclear power phase-out
