Switzerland switches off nuclear plant as it begins exit from atomic power

Record ID: 1449614

  • Title: Switzerland switches off nuclear plant as it begins exit from atomic power
  • Date: 20th December 2019
  • Summary: MUEHLEBERG, SWITZERLAND (DECEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS) PROJECTOR SCREEN SHOWING TECHNICIAN INSIDE PLANT CONTROL ROOM GUESTS, BKW STAFF SITTING IN HALL NEXT TO PLANT, WHERE CLOSING PROCESS IS BEING PROJECTED, THEN APPLAUDING GUESTS, BKW STAFF SITTING IN HALL NEXT TO PLANT, WITH PLANT IN THE BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PLANT CLOSING CEREMONY IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREENPEACE SWITZERLAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IRIS MENN, SAYING: "Yes, this is a moment of a milestone. It is a step to an energy transition, and we are very happy. We have fought quite a long time for this moment, that the power plant is shut down, but we have four (power plants) to go, and we are still far away from a real energy transition in Switzerland." SWISS GREEN PARTY PRESIDENT, REGULA RYTZ, SEEN ON SCREEN AS SHE PARTICIPATES TO CLOSING CEREMONY RYTZ, ON STAGE AT CLOSING CEREMONY (SOUNDBITE) (French) SWISS GREEN PARTY PRESIDENT, REGULA RYTZ, SAYING: "It is really a historic moment because we are really starting to free ourselves from nuclear energy. I live 15 kilometres away from here, and there is the security issue. But it's also about responsibility, we had to behave responsibly (in closing the plant) for future generations." VARIOUS OF PLANT SIGN READING (German): "BKW KERN KRAFTWERK MUEHLBERG" / SIGN BLURRING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BKW CEO, SUZANNE THOMA, SAYING: "The whole process will last 15 years, and one can say there are three phases: the first phase where there is still high radioactivity on the site, which will last about five years; then another seven years with low radioactivity; and then, at the very end, for the last five years, it is just conventional build-back of a plant or a building." CEREMONY ONGOING WITH THOMA ON STAGE THOMA ON STAGE IMAGE OF PLUG BEING UNPLUGGED FROM THE PLANT SIGN READING (English): "ON OFF" BLURRING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BKW CEO, SUZANNE THOMA, SAYING: "First thing I would like to say is that of course after the shutdown, the question of safety is much less severe than when we were still producing electricity with high temperature and with high pressure. But the most important thing is that we educate our people, that they are experts in handling such situation. And for these reasons, we have had already training programmes for several years, and we have also acquired two companies that are specialised in radioactive protection to absolutely ensure that we have enough resources to guarantee the protection of everybody." PLANT PEOPLE WALKING NEAR PLANT VARIOUS OF HOUSES AROUND PLANT (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREENPEACE SWITZERLAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IRIS MENN, SAYING: "We have no solution where we can put the waste, where we can store it in a secure place, and we all know that the waste is harmful for the people."
  • Embargoed: 3rd January 2020 15:00
  • Keywords: Muehleberg Switzerland environment nuclear plant power plant shutting off
  • Location: MUEHLEBERG AND BERN CANTON, SWITZERLAND
  • City: MUEHLEBERG AND BERN CANTON, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA002BAS78SN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: CHANGE IN RESTRICTIONS BECAUSE OF ADDITION OF POOL MATERIAL, WHICH SHOWS CLEAN IMAGES OF TECHNICIANS SWITCHING OFF PLANT INSIDE CONTROL ROOM
    Switzerland's Muehleberg nuclear power station went off the grid on Friday (December 20) after 47 years, marking the end of an era as the shutdown starts the country's exit from atomic power.
    The 373-megawatt-capacity plant which opened in 1972 has generated enough electricity to cover the energy consumption of the nearby city of Bern for more than 100 years.
    In scenes shown live on Swiss TV, at 12.30 p.m. (1130 GMT) a technician pressed two buttons in the control room to stop the chain reaction and deactivate the reactor, shutting down the plant for good.
    The closure is the first of Switzerland's five nuclear reactors to be shuttered following the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, which triggered safety concerns about nuclear power around the world.
    Neighbouring Germany is due to abandon nuclear power stations by 2022, while Switzerland's government has said it would build no new nuclear reactors and decommission its existing plants at their end of their lifespan.
    The Swiss decision to quit nuclear power was upheld in a 2017 referendum which also supported government plans to push forward sustainable energy with subsidies to develop solar, wind and hydroelectric power.
    No dates have been set for the shutdown of Switzerland's other nuclear power stations, although the Beznau plant near the German border, which dates back to 1969, is expected to be next.
    As recently as 2017, Switzerland's nuclear power stations generated a third of the country's power, compared with around 60% from hydroelectric and 5% from renewables.
    Muehleberg's operator, the state-controlled energy company BKW, decided in October 2013 to shutter the plant, saying plans to invest in its long-term future were no longer viable.
    Output has been winding down in the last few weeks as the final fuel loaded in the summer of 2018 was depleted.
    After the shutdown, a 15-year decommissioning process will get under way, costing 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.06 billion). No plans have been agreed for how the site will be redeveloped.
    Shutting down Muehleberg has generated mixed emotions. Anti-nuclear campaigners, however, hailed the move.
    (Production: Marina Depetris)
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