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ENERGY

Site in northern Switzerland picked for nuclear waste storage

Swiss authorities have selected a site in northern Switzerland, not far from the German border, to host a deep geological storage repository for radioactive waste, they said Saturday.

Site in northern Switzerland picked for nuclear waste storage
Leibstadt nuclear power plant near Leibstadt, Northern Switzerland. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP

After nearly 50 years of searching for the best way to store its radioactive waste, Switzerland is gearing up for its “project of the century”, entailing burying spent nuclear fuel deep underground in clay.

The organisation in charge of handling the country’s radioactive waste said Saturday it had decided that the Nordlich Lagern region was the best of three sites it had been considering for the underground storage facility.

We “chose Nordlich Lagern as the safest site for a deep geological repository,” Felix Glauser, a spokesman for the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra), told AFP in an email, confirming a report by Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS.

“Extensive investigations have shown that Nordlich Lagern is the most suitable site and has the largest safety reserves,” he added.

Nagra has informed the local population directly and is expected to present its proposal to the Swiss government on Monday, Keystone-ATS reported.

The Swiss government is not due to make the final decision until 2029, but that is unlikely to be the last word as the issue would probably go to a referendum under Switzerland’s famous direct democracy system.

Swiss nuclear power plants have been pumping out radioactive waste for more than half a century.

But following the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima power station in Japan, Switzerland decided to phase out nuclear power gradually: its reactors can continue for as long as they remain safe.

For now, the waste is being stored in an “intermediary depot” in Wurenlingen, some 15 kilometres from the German border.

With the new facility, Switzerland hopes to join an elite club of countries closing in on deep geological storage.

So far, only Finland has built a site, in granite, and Sweden gave the green light in January to build its own site for burying spent nuclear fuel in granite.

France also has plans to store radioactive waste underground in clay.

n Switzerland, a projected 83,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste, including some high activity waste, will have to be buried.

This volume corresponds to a 60-year operating life of the Beznau, Gosgen and Leibstadt nuclear power plants, and the 47 years that Muhleberg was in operation before closing in 2019.

Filling in the underground nuclear waste tombs should begin by 2060, followed by several decades of close monitoring.

The site would be sealed some time in the 22nd century.

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ENERGY

Are Swiss cities cutting back on Christmas lights this year?

Cities across Switzerland cut back on festive lighting last year amid the energy crisis. We look at what's happening this year.

Are Swiss cities cutting back on Christmas lights this year?

Switzerland is a stunning place to visit during the festive period because of its bustling Christmas markets, twinkling lights, and winter weather.

But last winter, lighting was pared back significantly across many countries due to energy saving measures following Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

The Swiss government urged people to cut down on energy as much as possible due to fears over energy shortages and spiralling costs as Russia throttled supplies. 

Households and businesses were asked to turn down heating, use less hot water, cut down energy when cooking and switch off electrical devices when they weren’t in use. 

Swiss cities also announced plans to turn down heating and save electricity in public buildings, including controls on Christmas lights.

This year things look very different and the EU is no longer in the danger zone when it comes to looming energy shortages. But there are still some energy saving measures in place in Switzerland even though the government isn’t calling for them at this time. 

The city of Zurich was a pioneer in electricity saving measures last winter, announcing restrictions early on. Now Zurich has relaxed them: offices can again be heated to a temperature higher than 19C, at night churches and other monuments shine brightly.

However the City Vereinigung Zürich (Zurich City Association) is imposing some restrictions on Christmas lights. “We will refrain from switching on the Christmas lights in the morning,” Managing Director Dominique Zygmont told broadcaster SRF.

The switching on of the “Lucy” Christmas lights on Bahnofstrasse – an established tradition in Zurich – takes place at 6pm on November 23rd. They will remain in place until January 6th 2024.

READ ALSO: The Swiss Christmas markets opening in November

There are also restrictions in the city of Bern, with the Christmas light timings being regulated. The lights are to switch off at 11 pm. Reto Nause, the energy director at Bern, said some lighting events will also be cancelled. Meanwhile, street lighting will continue to be dimmed when safety permits. 

This makes ecological and financial sense, says Nause, because the price of energy is significantly higher than in previous years.

“We therefore have the impression that it is economically worthwhile to continue these savings measures,” he said.

Basel-City also wants to follow the example of last winter and has permanently adapted the regulations for administrative offices. An upper temperature limit of 20 to 21C now applies.

Mobile “Heizöfeli” or heaters and air-conditioning units are no longer allowed, nor is a personal printer at the workplace. On the other hand, the people of Basel can enjoy the Christmas lights in their full length this year – as things stand at the moment.

There will be slight restrictions on electricity consumption in other cities this year as well. However, energy is set to be less scarce in the upcoming winter compared to last year, said the Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Benoît Revaz.

“Europe is better prepared than a year ago,” Revaz added in a recent report on Swiss broadcaster SRF.

Just a year ago, Revaz warned that the winter of 2023/24 would be even more difficult than the last. However, the situation is better than predicted due to the well-filled gas storage facilities in Europe, and the French nuclear power plants, of which more are running than expected.

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