Nuclear power in Switzerland
[2] In 2011, the federal authorities decided to gradually phase out nuclear power in Switzerland as a consequence of the Fukushima accident in Japan.
[4] As of 8 December 2014, the National Council has voted to limit the operational life-time of the Beznau Nuclear Power Plant to 60 years, forcing its two reactors to be decommissioned by 2029 and 2031, respectively.
[12] Switzerland has three nuclear power plants with four reactors in operation as of late December, 2019: (Beznau and Gösgen provide district heating in addition to power production)[13][14] The Beznau reactors are owned by the Axpo Holding, that also control major parts of Leibstadt.
[18] Extending across the north and south side of the Alps, Switzerland lies at the junction of the Apulian and Eurasian tectonic plates, and there are many active seismic areas under the mountains that show that stresses continue to be released along deep fault lines.
The 1356 Basel earthquake is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history[21] and may have had a Mw magnitude as strong as 7.1.
[22] Between 2002 and 2004 a major study was conducted to assess the seismic risk to Swiss nuclear power plants.
[24] There was also concern in Switzerland over the seismic risks of the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant, located in France approximately 40 km (25 mi) from the Swiss border.
Following Fukushima the Swiss cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura asked the French government to suspend the operation of Fessenheim while undertaking a safety review based on the lessons learned from Japan.
[2][29] Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in Switzerland is stored on surface sites (mostly in the ZWILAG-building).
[30][31][32] Switzerland's radioactive waste management is overseen by Zwilag, a company owned by the four Swiss nuclear utilities.
[34] On 10 June 2008, ATEL submitted an application to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy for the construction of a new plant in the Niederamt region (SO).
[38] In November 2016, a referendum was held concerning a Green Party initiative that would have phased out all nuclear plants after a life-span of 45 years.
Hydroelectric power currently supplies 60% of the country's electricity, while solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal generation is expected to double by 2035.
No new nuclear reactors will be constructed, and existing plants will continue to operate subject to safety evaluations by ENSI.
[15] In August 2024, the Federal Council, led by Energy Minister Albert Rösti, proposed lifting the nuclear power plant construction ban that had been in place since 2017.
