Keystone-SDA
New nuclear power stations in Switzerland are not competitive under current conditions, according to a new study. They could become profitable only with state subsidies, risk mitigation and significantly lower construction costs.
This is the conclusion reached by a study published on Monday by 19 researchers from federal technology institute ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). It is based on four energy models for the year 2050.
For new nuclear power stations to become economically viable, policymakers would need to support nuclear energy in a similar way to renewables and mitigate financing risks. However, given the construction costs of CHF12,000 ($14,800) per kilowatt currently observed in Europe and the US, such an investment would no longer be viable in three out of four models, even with state support.
According to the researchers, Switzerland can achieve its climate targets by 2050 even without new nuclear power stations, but it would remain dependent on electricity imports in winter. New power stations could reduce these imports but not replace them entirely.
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Swiss public sentiment swings in favour of nuclear energy
Translated from German, sub-edited by ts
