Swiss Nuclear Exit to Cost €16.8 Billion

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Switzerland is facing a higher-than-expected bill of almost €17 billion to cover its withdrawal from the nuclear power sector.

A study from the country's Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) has put the cost of decommissioning its five nuclear power stations at €16.8 billion ($22.5 billion), 10% higher than the estimate made five years ago. The regular five-year study is used by the government to assess what levies it will charge nuclear plant operators to help meet the future costs of decommissioning nuclear plants and managing radioactive waste.

Last month, the Swiss parliament endorsed the government's decision of May this year, to phase out nuclear power within the next two decades. Plans for the exit were approved by the Upper House with the government blaming the tragic disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power in Japan as the reason for its decision to ditch nuclear power. Switzerland originally announced its intentions in May, the same week that Germany also decided to pull the plug on nuclear power. For additional information, see May 27, 2011, article - Switzerland Calls Time on Nuclear Power.

Switzerland's has five operational reactors at four nuclear power plants (NPPs), which supply a little less than 40% of the country's electricity. Unlike Germany's accelerated timetable for exiting the nuclear sector, Switzerland will phase it out gradually. The timetable for the plant closures will run between 2019 and 2034. The first nuclear plant to be closed will be Beznau I in 2019, followed by Beznau II and Muehleberg in 2022, Goegen in 2029 and Leibstadt in 2034.

The largest single cost will be radioactive waste management, which is expected to cost around €13 billion ($17.3 billion). The Swiss waste management fund will cover just over half the amount but nuclear operators will have to pay the rest. Plant decommissioning costs, which have risen 17% since 2006, now stand at €2.4 billion ($3.2 billion).

Losing nuclear power will put a strain on the country's electricity supply as consumption of energy in the country continues to grow. Figures released this summer show that for 2010, Swiss energy consumption rose 4.4% to 911,550 terajoules, thanks to colder weather, improving economy and increasing population.

With the nuclear phase out, the Swiss government plans to expand it's already impressive hydropower resources, boost renewable energy investment and build a number of combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants to bridge the gap.

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