CHRISTOF FORSTER Supporters of nuclear power rejoiced when Albert Rösti (SVP) succeeded Simonetta Sommaruga (SP) as energy minister at the start of 2023. Rösti was one of them: against the energy transition and in favour of new nuclear power plants. Proponents of nuclear energy argue that Switzerland needs new nuclear power stations more than ever. However, it seems their hopes are not to be realised. Construction ban on new nuclear power plants The nuclear power lobby had been saying for a long time that there is no alternative to nuclear for ensuring the country’s power supply. But no one was listening. The Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 pushed the (already controversial) topic firmly off the table. In 2017, the people gave the green light to the “Energy Strategy 2050”, in other words to the incremental expansion of renewable energies and a construction ban on new nuclear power plants. The decision led indirectly to the decommissioning of Mühleberg nuclear power station in the canton of Berne, which is currently being dismantled. This is the first time Switzerland has actually proceeded with dismantling a nuclear plant. Sluggish expansion of alternative energy sources In the meantime, the planned expansion of photovoltaics and wind turEnergy Minister Rösti pulls the plug on new nuclear plants Nuclear power in Switzerland had been a taboo subject ever since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. Then, fears of a power shortage increased support for building new nuclear power stations. Now, there is renewed resistance to the idea – from an unexpected quarter. bines has been underwhelming. As the country had adequate power, there was a lack of urgency in parliament to back renewables. It wasn’t long before this complacency was challenged. In autumn 2021, a good four years after the vote to phase out nuclear power, the federal government issued a study warning of potential ‘power shortages’. Although the study outlined an absolute worstcase scenario, it caused alarm among the political parties and population. The right-wing conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which had always opposed the energy transition, criticised the Federal Council’s ‘camping stove policy’ and called loudly for the construction of new nuclear power plants to address the potential power shortages. The nuSwitzerland is currently learning more about dismantling nuclear power plants than building them: workers dismantling the decommissioned Mühleberg nuclear power plant. Photo: Keystone 20 Nature and the environment
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYwNzMx