Nuclear energy in Switzerland

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The nuclear energy contributes about 37 percent to the total electricity production in Switzerland in. Currently (as of the end of 2019), four reactor units with a gross installed capacity of 3,095 MW are operated at three locations in Switzerland . The first commercially used reactor block went into operation in Beznau in 1969.

List of nuclear reactors in Switzerland

In Switzerland there are a total of four nuclear reactors ( Beznau 1 and 2 , Gösgen , and Leibstadt ), 39% of the electricity is generated by nuclear energy, a further 56.1% with hydropower plants and 4.9% in conventional thermal power plants or on the basis other renewable energies (2008). They are monitored by the Council of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), the supervisory authority for the nuclear safety and security of Swiss nuclear facilities. The Council is an “independent” body that is elected by the Federal Council and only reports directly to it.

List of nuclear power plants in Switzerland (source: IAEA, as of November 2018)
Surname block
 Reactor type model status Net
power
in MW
 Gross
power
in MW
 start of building First network
synchronization 		Commercial
operation
(planned)
 Switching off
processing
(planned)
 Feed-
in in TWh
Beznau 1 DWR WH 2LP In operation 365 380 1968-09-01 09/01/1965 1969-07-17 09/01/1969 1969-12-09 09/01/1969 - 119.40
2 DWR WH 2LP In operation 365 380 1965-09-01 01/01/1968 1971-10-23 October 23, 1971 1972-03-04 03/04/1972 - 125.74
Gösgen 1 DWR PWR 3 loop In operation 1010 1060 1973-12-01 December 01, 1973 1979-02-02 02/02/1979 1979-11-01 11/01/1979 - 281.37
Leibstadt 1 SWR BWR-6 In operation 1220 1275 1974-01-01 01/01/1974 1984-05-24 05/24/1984 1984-12-15 December 15, 1984 - 265.95
Mühleberg 1 SWR BWR-4 Shut down 373 390 1967-03-01 03/01/1967 1971-07-01 07/01/1971 1972-11-06 11/06/1972 December 20, 2019 116.37

history

In Switzerland there were six referendums on nuclear energy.

  • The first took place on February 18, 1979 (title: "People's initiative" to protect people's rights and safety in the construction and operation of nuclear facilities ""); 48.8% voted for the initiative. It just missed the required majority.
  • On September 29, 1984 there was a vote on the initiative “For a future without nuclear power plants” (45% in favor).
  • On September 23, 1990 there were two further referendums on nuclear energy.
    • The initiative “Stop the construction of nuclear power plants”, which proposed a ten-year waiting period for the construction of new nuclear power plants, was successful with 54.5%.
    • The initiative for the exit got 47.1%, so no majority.
  • In 2000 a referendum was held on the introduction of an eco-tax , the proceeds of which should be used to promote solar energy . This was also unsuccessful.
  • Two further referendums - on May 18, 2003 - were both rejected:
    • "Electricity without atom" asked for an exit (33.7% in favor),
    • “For longer waiting periods” provided for an extension of the waiting periods (41.6% approval) that had been set in the referendum “Stop the construction of nuclear power plants”.
  • The nuclear phase-out initiative envisaged the shutdown of nuclear power plants after a maximum of 45 years of operation. This was on 27 November 2016, 54.2%, and the cantons rejected.

The “Electricity without Atom” initiative planned to close all nuclear power plants by 2033. This should start with the two reactors in Beznau ; Mühleberg was to follow in 2005, Gösgen in 2009 and Leibstadt in 2014. “For longer waiting periods” planned to increase the waiting periods by a further ten years and a condition to close the current reactors after a total period of forty years. In order to extend these forty years by a further ten years, another referendum would be necessary. The failure of “For longer waiting periods” came as a surprise to many, as previously conducted opinion polls predicted the opposite. The worsening economic situation in Switzerland at the time of the referendum (May 2003) was often seen as the main reason for the rejection of both initiatives.

Since the Beznau and Mühleberg nuclear power plants will reach their planned lifespan in the next few years, the construction of two new nuclear power plants was considered. The Swiss energy supplier Atel favored the Gösgen and Beznau locations and announced the establishment of a planning company for the two plants, each with an output of 1,600 MW. On June 10, 2008, Aare-Tessin Ltd. for Electricity submitted an application to the Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) for a general license for a second nuclear power plant in Gösgen, which was to be called Niederamt nuclear power plant . This should deliver electricity from 2025.

Due to the low electricity exchange price in Europe, the earnings situation has generally been difficult for Swiss power plant operators since 2012; the Axpo Holding and Alpiq Holding write with their nuclear power plants losses because the cost price per kWh higher than the prices to be achieved.

On May 21, 2017, the Swiss population approved the Energy Strategy 2050 with 58.2% yes-votes. As a result, the construction of new nuclear power plants is prohibited. Furthermore, renewable energies and the more efficient use of energy are to be promoted.

On December 20, 2019, the Mühleberg nuclear power plant, the first commercial nuclear power plant in Switzerland, was finally taken offline.

Nuclear phase-out

On November 30, 2008, 76.4 percent of the voters in the city of Zurich voted in favor of phasing out nuclear energy. The municipal code stipulates that the city is not allowed to participate in the construction of new nuclear power plants and waives new rights to purchase nuclear power. Participation in the Gösgen nuclear power plant will end in 2039.

On May 25, 2011, the Swiss Federal Council announced that it had decided on a long-term nuclear phase - out . The current nuclear power plants are to remain in existence until the end of their service life, but will not be replaced afterwards. The relatively youngest nuclear power plant in Leibstadt would be shut down in 2034, assuming an operating life of 50 years. In September 2011, the Council of States also approved the decision to withdraw. The construction of new nuclear power plants is also to be banned. For more information, see Swiss energy policy .

The "Documentation Center for Nuclear Free Switzerland" wants to document regional and national resistance to nuclear power plants from 2015; Its curator is the Swiss songwriter, anti-nuclear activist and long-time managing director of the Trinational Atomic Protection Association / TRAS and the initiative Never again nuclear power plants / NWA, Aernschd Born .

A study by the University of St. Gallen published in November 2015 found a rejection of 77 percent to build a new nuclear power plant in eastern Switzerland .

On December 18, 2015, BKW decided to shut down the Mühleberg nuclear power plant. On December 20, 2019, Mühlenberg was finally shut down and is being dismantled.

nuclear waste

In the Federal Decree on the Swiss Atomic Energy Act of October 6, 1978, the validity of operating licenses for nuclear power plants after 1985 was made dependent on evidence of safe disposal. The federal resolution was limited in time until a new Atomic Energy Act came into force, but no longer than December 31, 1983. On March 18, 1983, it was extended to the end of 1990 and on June 22, 1990 to the end of 2000. In the dispatch to Parliament of March 2000, the amendment of the federal resolution and its renewed extension until December 31, 2010 was requested and decided on October 6, 2000.

Since June 1999 Switzerland has had a new law on the disposal of radioactive waste. It stipulates that the producer of radioactive waste is responsible for permanent, safe disposal and final storage or disposal.

In Switzerland, the Nagra ( National Cooperative for the Storage of Radioactive Waste ) is commissioned by the polluters of radioactive waste to develop and implement solutions for the storage of nuclear waste. Since 2001, spent fuel elements and other radioactive waste have been gradually transported to the interim storage facility in Würenlingen .

Opalinus Clay is currently the preferred host rock for final disposal . Nuclear opponents criticize it as incomprehensible after a final storage in granite rock was favored for years. In addition, the clay layer is very thin and the effects of heat generation on the rock have not been adequately investigated.

In the Mont Terri rock laboratory , bacteria and (elsewhere) salt water residues from the sea were found in the rock, which, according to laboratory director Paul Bossart, calls into question its impermeability "after 100,000 years at the latest". However, there are nuclides in the waste that radiate much longer.

Follow-up costs

A cost study carried out by SwissNuclear in 2016 on behalf of the Commission for the decommissioning fund and the waste management fund put the costs for decommissioning the nuclear power plants and the final storage of radioactive waste at CHF 22.8 billion. A review of this study carried out by independent researchers in 2017 came to a slightly higher sum of CHF 23.5 billion.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Electricity mix and energy mix - Energie-Umwelt.ch. Retrieved December 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Switzerland. IAEA, accessed November 5, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Beznau is no longer the oldest nuclear power plant in the world - how is that suddenly possible? Retrieved January 13, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).
  4. ↑ The decommissioning order for the Mühleberg nuclear power plant is available. BKW Energie , June 21, 2018, accessed on November 7, 2018 .
  5. ↑ www.swissvotes.ch
  6. ↑ Specific request for a second Gösgen nuclear power plant. to: NZZ online. June 11, 2008.
  7. ↑ Template No. 612.Swiss Federal Chancellery, May 21, 2017, accessed on May 21, 2017 .
  8. ↑ a b The Mühleberg nuclear power plant was once upon a time. nzz.ch, December 20, 2019, accessed December 20, 2019 .
  9. ^ City of Zurich is serious about phasing out nuclear power. Surprisingly clear yes to the energy policy proposal. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. December 1, 2008.
  10. ↑ Federal Council decides to phase out nuclear power. wirtschaft.ch, May 25, 2011, accessed on May 25, 2011 .
  11. ↑ Council of States says yes to the nuclear phase-out . In: NZZ. September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  12. ↑ atomfrei.ch
  13. ↑ Survey of residents of possible wind farms in Eastern Switzerland , Institute for Economics and Ecology at the University of St. Gallen, November 2015
  14. ↑ Switzerland has been postponing its Atomic Energy Act for 30 years (PDF; 36 kB)
  15. ↑ www.global2000.at: Atomic power in Switzerland ( Memento of the original from November 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.global2000.at
  16. ↑ Magazine of the Swiss Energy Foundation , No. 1, 2010.
  17. ↑ The decommissioning of nuclear power plants will cost over CHF 23 billion . In: Handelszeitung . Retrieved December 27, 2017.