Environmental agency doubts suitability of many nuclear waste sites

In the complex search for a final storage site for German nuclear waste, 5.5 percent of Saxony's land area has so far been considered potentially suitable. The Geological Service at the State Environment Agency has now taken a closer look at these areas - and has come to a different conclusion. According to the office, many of these regions are potentially "less suitable" as a site for a final repository. The geological conditions are not given.

"The metamorphic rocks in the Ore Mountains in particular have an inhomogeneous structure due to their complex geological history," it said. Some granite deposits in Saxony are also not very suitable for the safe storage of nuclear waste.

Expert opinion of the State Environment Agency

In November, the Federal Company for Final Disposal (BGE) published its assessment that smaller parts of the districts of Bautzen, Central Saxony, Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains and the Ore Mountains were among the particularly suitable areas. The State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology has now responded to this with its expert opinion.

The BGE assessment is still pending for a further 2.8 percent of the area in Saxony. Nationwide, around 25 percent of the German land area could be considered for a possible repository.

In mid-2026, the BGE intends to present a further interim status, and by the end of 2027 it intends to propose siting regions for above-ground exploration. The Bundestag will ultimately decide on the regions in question. The target date for the decision on a final repository is currently 2050.