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Switzerland news
June 28, 2006 Switzerland takes step towards deep repository; site-selection criteria being developed Switzerland: The Federal Council has approved the conclusions of a report on the feasibility of the disposal of high-level waste (HLW), submitted to the government by the National Cooperative for the Storage of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) in 2002. The decision confirms that, in principle, construction of a deep geological repository for HLW, spent fuel and long-lived intermediate-level waste (ILW) is feasible in Switzerland. The federal safety authorities and other national and international experts examined the openly published project documentation in detail and recommended to the Federal Council to grant the project its approval. The decision by the Federal Council represents an important milestone in the Swiss radioactive waste management program. Once the Federal Council has specified the procedures and criteria for site selection in the sectoral plan for deep geological repositories, the next step will be to initiate the selection procedure for sites for future repositories. Nagra is presently preparing the technical basis for this procedure, which will be conducted under the lead of the Federal Office of Energy. (Nagra, 28 June; see also News Briefing 06.12-11) [Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA Switzerland - new n-plants planned by Axpo, renewables alone won't cover nation's needs by 2020 Switzerland: Utility Axpo is planning not only new nuclear power reactors, but is also preparing to renew its run-of-river hydro plants, expand renewables and construct gas-fired plants by 2020 in order to help the country meet its Kyoto Protocol emissions target. Axpo board member Manfred Thumann said that renewables alone could not cover the gap in energy supply. The conclusion, he said, was that nuclear power is the way forward. (Platts Emissions Daily, 28 June, p3; see also News Briefing 05.21-6) [Source: World Nuclear Association, WNA * [2006-05-29] US frustrates Swiss nuclear probe * [2006-05-26] U.S. Silence Impeding Swiss in Nuclear Case * [2006-05-18] Mox plant rolls out new delivery to Swiss client * [2006-05-07] More Mox fuel assemblies delivered to Switzerland * [2006-05-05] Defenders of the environment call for action ... According to the study, that would mean electricity supply would be possible without building new gas or nuclear power plants. ... November 15, 2005 Switzerland - 2020 n-plant decommissioning - soft energy unlikely to make up the difference The Swiss Federal Office of Energy commissioned the Paul Scherrer Institute to look at the prospects for meeting energy demand over the next thirty years. Currently, hydropower is used for almost 60% of electricity, with nuclear providing almost 40%. Small hydro, wind, biomass, solar and geothermal currently meet about 3% of demand, and will not provide more than 10% by 2035, according to the study. The institute sees three options: energy saving, new renewable energy sources and the new European reactor. Biomass should be used to produce electricity, heating and motor fuel. [Ref: "CO2-freie Stromperspektiven fŸr die Schweiz" (CO2-free current perspectives for Switzerland)] August 13, 2003 The heatwave has not caused any operational or safety difficulties for the country's five nuclear power plants. Plants cooled by evaporating river water in cooling towers (Gšsgen and Leibstadt) have been able to generate less electricity because the cooling towers works less efficiently when the river water is warmer. The reduction in the plants' physical efficiency in warm summers balances out with the gains in physical efficiency during cold winters. Plants without cooling towers are cooled by directly warming up parts of the river water. This warmed-up water is then returned to the river. Local regulations stipulate that this water must not be warmer than some 32¡C or 33¡C. To keep to the regulatory temperature, the electricity output of those plants is reduced every summer if the rivers are very warm. [Source: John Shepherd (NucNet Central Office), "Europe's Heatwave: Nuclear Shows Staying Power As Wind Fails", NucNet, August 13, 2003] 1986 Mean individual dose to Swiss from Chernobyl accident (over 50-year period) is projected to be 300 microSieverts. The collective dose to Swiss over the same period is projected to be 1,900 person-Sieverts. The projections take into account inhalation from the passing cloud, ingestion through the food chain, and external irradiation from deposited radioactivity, and are based on the MESOS dispersion model developed by Helen ApSimon of Imperial College, as applied by W. Nixon, of the Safety and Reliability Directorate of the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority. [Ref: Nuclear News, "Chernobyl doses across the continent", January 1987, p. 62] |