Nuclear power in Switzerland

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The Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant is located in the canton of Aargau.

Switzerland Nuclear power plants (view)

Active plants

Closed plants

Switzerland has four nuclear power plants, with five reactors in operation as of 2007. These plants produced 26.2 TWh in 2006 (up 19.2 percent from 2005, when 22.9 TWh were produced). Nuclear power accounts for 42.2 percent of the total production of electricity (62.1 TWh) in the country; the rest was produced by hydroelectric plants (52.4 percent) and conventional thermal or other plants (5.4 percent).

In addition, there are a certain number of Research reactors in Switzerland, such as the CROCUS reactor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Switzerland uses nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes.^[1]

1 Reactors
- 1.1 Power reactors
- 1.2 Research and Teaching reactors
2 Politics
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Reactors

[edit] Power reactors

Switzerland has four nuclear power plants with five reactors in operation as of 2007:

Beznau I (1969) and Beznau II (1972) (PWR), (47.552107° N 8.228492° E), Official site - 365 MWe each - Plant safety (each unit): Double containment, large dry; 3 trains safety injection, high and low pressure; 3 trains emergency feedwater; part of these ECCS-systems in a bunkerised building; possibilities to connect external water sources
Mühleberg (1972) (BWR), (46.968613° N 7.268282° E), Official site - 350 MWe - Plant safety: Double containment, pressure suppression (Torus, with water pool of 2000 m3); 4 trains Low pressure core spray; 4 trains RHR (Torus-cooling); 2 turbine-driven HP-systems; part of the ECCS-systems bunkerised; possibilities to connect external water sources
Gösgen (1979) (PWR) (47.365978° N 7.966568° E) - 950 MWe - Plant safety: Double containment, large dry; 4 trains for high and low pressure safety injection (50% each); 4 trains emergency feedwater (50% each); 2 additional trains emergency feedwater; part of these ECCS-systems bunkerised; possibilities to connect external water sources
Leibstadt (1984) (BWR) (47.601439° N 8.183227° E) - 1150 MWe - Safety: Double containment (with additional Wet-Well), pressure suppression (water pool of 4200 m3); 4 trains (50% each) Low pressure injection (with 2 trains RHR), 2 diverse trains High pressure injection; 1 additional train emergency injection (with 1 train RHR); nearly all the ECCS-systems bunkerised; possibility to connect external water sources.

These plants produced 26.2 TWh in 2006 (up 19.2% from 2005 when 22.9 TWh were produced), or 42.2% of the total production of electricity (62.1 TWh) in the country.

[edit] Research and Teaching reactors

CROCUS, the only nuclear reactor of the French-speaking part of Switzerland

Saphir - The reactor that became known as SAPHIR was a 10-100 kW-range swimming-pool reactor of demonstration brought to Switzerland by the U.S. delegation to the First Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy that took place in Geneva in August 1955. It has been the first reactor ever shown in operation to the public, worldwide. After the conference the reactor was purchased by the Swiss government on behalf of Reaktor AG, a consortium interested in the development of nuclear energy in Switzerland. (See Lucens reactor below.) The reactor was moved to Würenlingen on the location of the future Paul Scherrer Institut and received its name, SAPHIR, on May 17, 1957. (The name of the reactor was inspired by the color of the Cherenkov radiation which was visible when the reactor was in operation.) Operable until 1994
Diorit - Small heavy water reactor, 1960 to 1977, at former EIR Würenlingen
Lucens
Proteus - New research reactor at PSI Würenlingen
CROCUS (46.521238° N 6.570361° E)- CROCUS is a null-power (licensed to 100 W max power) LWR used for teaching at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Crocus is a critical assembly, built in part from the elements of a dismantled subcritical assembly: Cactus. (The name of the latter originated for the numerous instrumentation bars that came out of the core. Crocus is another name in the XXXus series for nuclear installations at EPFL, e.g. the D-T nuclear fusion facility: Lotus.)

[edit] Politics

In Switzerland there have been many referenda on the topic of nuclear energy, beginning in 1979 with a citizens' initiative for nuclear safety, which was rejected. In 1984, there was a vote on an initiative "for a future without further nuclear power stations" with the result being a 55 to 45% vote against. On September 23, 1990 Switzerland had two more referenda about nuclear power. The initiative "stop the construction of nuclear power stations," which proposed a ten-year moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants, was passed with 54.5% to 45.5%. The initiative for a phase-out was rejected with by 53% to 47.1%. In 2000 there was a vote on a Green Tax for support of solar energy. It was rejected by 67-31%. On May 18, 2003, there were two referenda: "Electricity without Nuclear," asking for a decision on a nuclear power phase-out, and "Moratorium Plus," for an extension of the earlier decided moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. Both were turned down. The results were: Moratorium Plus: 41.6% Yes, 58.4% No; Electricity without Nuclear: 33.7% Yes, 66.3% No.^[2]

The program of the "Electricity without Nuclear" petition was to shut down all nuclear power stations by 2033, starting with Unit 1 and 2 of Beznau nuclear power stations, Mühleberg in 2005, Gösgen in 2009, and Leibstadt in 2014. "Moratorium Plus" was for an extension of the moratorium for another 10 years, and additionally a condition to stop the present reactors after 40 years of operation. In order to extend the 40 years by 10 more years another referendum would have to be held (at high administrative costs). The rejection of the Moratorium Plus had come to surprise to many, as opinion polls before the referendum have showed acceptance. Reasons for the rejections in both cases were seen in the worsened economic situation.^[3]

As of 2005, Switzerland has five nuclear reactors at Beznau (Beznau 1 and 2), Gösgen, Leibstadt, and Mühleberg, and around 40% of its electricity is generated by nuclear power. Another 60% comes from hydroelectricity.^[4] There is currently talk of a new nuclear plant.