Nuclear power in Switzerland

Geschichte

Nuclear power in Switzerland is generated by four nuclear power plants, with a total of five operational reactors (see list below). In 2013, they produced 24.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, down 5.8% from 2007, when 26.4 TWh were produced. Nuclear power accounted for 36.4% of the nation's gross electricity generation of 68.3 TWh, while 57.9% was produced by hydroelectric plants and 5.7% came from conventional thermal power stations and non-hydro renewable energy sources.In addition, there are a 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. Any project for the adoption of nuclear weapons was definitively dropped in 1988.In 2011, the federal authorities decided to gradually phase out nuclear power in Switzerland as a consequence of the Fukushima accident in Japan. In late 2013 the operator BKW decided to cease all electrical generation in 2019 in the Mühleberg plant, which has a similar design to Fukushima. Axpo is expected to come up with a similar decision for its aging Beznau Nuclear Power Plant, which houses the oldest commercial reactor of the world.