After the government announced plans to raise a ban on building new nuclear power plants, it may take years for new nuclear power plants to be operational in Switzerland, according to power authorities and politicians.
In order to satisfy climate goals and address political uncertainty, such as the Ukraine conflict, which has sparked fears of outages in the nation, the Federal Council on Wednesday reversed its 2017 decision to leave nuclear strength.
Nuclear power proponents welcomed the walk, with Le Temps paper calling it” good announcement” in view of international changes since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, which had prompted Switzerland’s exit strategy.
But several expect change to arrive quickly- or quickly.
The process of changing the law, finding billions of dollars in funding, obtaining the enables- while watching likely elections by opponents- and building a flower, according to Stephanie Eger, a nuclear energy specialist at the Swiss Energy Foundation ( SES ), would probably take at least 35 times.
According to Eger,” a lot of endurance and heavy pockets” would also be required for nuclear advocates, adding that there would be less expensive and more lasting alternatives.
According to Swiss government figures, about 62 % of the country’s electricity is produced by hydropower, compared to nearly a third of that country’s electricity production. Only 9 % of the nation’s energy is produced by fossil fuels and renewable energy, excluding hydropower.
The years required to lift the ban on new nuclear plants and obtain permits may mean any design would likely start before 2040, according to Andreas Pautz, director of the Paul Scherrer Institute, a research institute.
If that occurred, with supply chain improvements and streamlined regulations, commercial operations could begin by the middle of the 2040s, Pautz said.
Roger Nordmann, a federal lawmaker opposed to the U-turn, was more sceptical, seeing it taking until the early 2060s.
” It’s a very long process and it’s going to be very hard”, he said, foreseeing referendums on three future bills needed to authorize a new plant under Switzerland’s direct democracy.
One plant has been retired in Switzerland, and the other three are aging, constructed between the late 1960s and the early 1980s.
It was too early to release an anticipated start date for new projects, according to Marianne Zund, a spokesperson for the energy ministry.
But current plants could keep running until at least their 60th year, provided they met safety requirements, she said.
Local resistance can threaten progress even if the government defeats the parliamentary opposition.
Switzerland’s first planned reactor had a core melt in 1969, stoking safety fears that still linger. Cost is another issue, with neighbours like France spending billions of dollars on nuclear projects over budget.
” It’s coming too late”, said Greenpeace’s Nathan Solothurnmann. And it’s a disconcerting because we need to concentrate on renewable energy right now.
