German Power Plant Dismantled, to Be Relocated to Ukraine

The German company Industriekraftwerk Greifswald GmbH has decided to dismantle a power plant in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which previously operated on Russian gas, and relocate it to Ukraine, as reported by the Nordkurier newspaper on Wednesday (29/4), citing Lubmin Mayor Axel Vogt.

The operator of the power plant, Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), has reportedly confirmed the plan.

After the supply of gas from Russia via the Nord Stream pipeline was halted in 2022, continuing operations at the facility became economically unviable, said company spokesperson Christoph Gottstein, as quoted.

The power plant was shut down in 2023, and the dismantling process was previously scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.

The decision to relocate the facility to Kyiv was made after no buyer was found for a sufficiently long time, while the costs of dismantling and disposal would be high, Nordkurier reported, citing Gottstein.

Sahra Wagenknecht, one of the founders of the German party Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (BSW), criticised the decision on Wednesday.

“First Ukraine destroys our energy supply, and now we are also handing over the power plant? A policy that does not favour our own country,” she wrote on platform X.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines experienced explosions in September 2022. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have not ruled out the possibility of sabotage.

Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident on suspicion of international terrorism.

Russia has repeatedly requested data related to investigations conducted by other countries into the explosion, but has never received a response, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.