In 2015, Switzerland consumed 58 billion kWh of electricity. It exported 43 billion kWh, mainly to Italy, and imported 42 billion kWh, mainly from France, Austria and Germany.
Around 35% of the total was produced from nuclear, 59% from hydro, and 6% from other sources, based on 2015 Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE numbers.
Switzerland’s nuclear power plants – Source: World Nuclear Association
The country has five nuclear reactors on four sites with a total generation capacity of 3,315 MWe, which produced 24 billion kWh of gross electrical energy in 2015.
Switzerland has a plan to shut down all of its nuclear power stations. In May 2011, the Swiss federal council decided to switch off all reactors at the end of their safe operational lifespans. Based on its estimates, the last reactor would be shutdown in 2034. However, the government has made no commitment to close any nuclear reactor by a specific date.
Each of the four sites is summarised below:
Beznau
- Location: Aargau. Closest city: Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany.
- Cooling water: from the Aare river.
- Reactors: two reactors switched on in 1969 and 1971. Beznau reactor 1 is the oldest operating reactor in the world, based on the date it was started.
- Production capacity: net electrical production capacity of 365 MWe per reactor – 730 MWe total.
- Output: 6.0 million MWh, around 9% of Switzerland’s net annual consumption in 2014.
- Estimated shutdown: reactor 1 in 2019 and reactor 2 in 2022. Beznau is the oldest nuclear power plant in Switzerland.
Beznau – Source wikipedia: By Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim
Mühleberg
- Location: Bern. Closest city: Bern.
- Cooling water: from the Aare river.
- Reactor: switched on in 1972. Second oldest.
- Production capacity: net electrical production capacity of 355 MWe,
- Output: 3.0 million MWh, around 4% of Switzerland’s net annual consumption in 2014.
- Estimated shutdown: December 2019.
Source: Wikipedia – By BKW FMB Energie AG
Gösgen
- Location: Solothun. Closest city: Olten.
- Cooling water: from the Aare river.
- Reactor: switched on in 1979
- Production capacity: net electrical production capacity of 1,010 MWe.
- Output: 8.0 million MWh, around 12% of Switzerland’s net annual consumption in 2014.
- Estimated shutdown: 2029
Gösgen – Source: Wikipedia – By Ch-info.ch (Own work).
Leibstadt
- Location: Aargau. Closest city: Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany
- Cooling water: from the Rhine river.
- Reactor: switched on in 1984 – largest, most expensive and most recent.
- Production capacity: net electrical production capacity of 1,220 MWe.
- Output: 9.5 million MWh, around 14% of Switzerland’s net annual consumption in 2014.
- Estimated shutdown: 2034, the last to be switched off.
Liebstadt – Source: Wikipedia – By BjørnN (Own work)
Three of Switzerland’s nuclear power stations are on the banks of the Aare river. The 295 km Aare, contained entirely within Switzerland’s borders, starts near the 2,164 m high Grimsel pass in the canton of Bern. From there, it flows into lake Brienz, through Interlaken, into lake Thun, through the city of Bern, into lake Biel, out of lake Biel and across the Swiss plateau before emptying into the Rhine river, which forms part of the border between Germany and Switzerland. In addition to cooling three nuclear power stations, it drives 40 sets of hydroelectric turbines.
Notes:
Percentages of total Swiss electric power production are based on 2014 figures from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and Swiss Nuclear.
MWe should not be confused with MWh. One MWe is one million watts of generation capacity. One MWh is one million watts of electrical power produced or consumed over one hour, a measure of energy – detailed definition.
More on this:
Electrical output figures in 2014 (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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