Gösgen Nuclear Plant Restarted: Swiss Electricity Imports & Future Reactors

The Gösgen nuclear power plant in the Swiss canton of Solothurn has been authorized to restart operations after a ten-month shutdown, the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (IFSN) announced Monday morning. The plant’s operator, Kernkraftwerk Gösgen-Däniken (KGG), confirmed that electricity production had resumed later in the day.

The forced pause in operations contributed to increased electricity imports to Switzerland last year, impacting costs for taxpayers as KGG is primarily owned by public entities. The Gösgen plant, featuring Switzerland’s second-most powerful reactor after Leibstadt, generates 13% of the country’s electricity.

The restart follows a recent decision by the Council of States, two weeks prior, to lift the ban on the construction of new nuclear reactors in Switzerland. This move occurred despite reservations expressed by antinuclear organizations and questions raised about public support for revisiting nuclear energy, as noted by Robert Cramer, according to reporting from Le Temps.