Just seven years after it was imposed, the Federal Council is set to reverse the ban on new nuclear power plants in Switzerland, Swiss media reports have claimed. Energy Minister Albert Rösti (SVP) is expected to present the full plan in the coming months.

Swiss Energy Minister moves to overturn nuclear power plant ban

According to a report from the Tages-Anzeiger, the Federal Council is on the verge of scrapping the ban on new nuclear power plants in Switzerland. Rösti is said to have submitted the idea to the executive at a meeting on August 14.

The push is designed to be a counter-proposal to the “Stop Blackout” initiative, a FDP. The Liberals / SVP proposal which secured enough signatures to become a referendum in February 2024. If approved by voters, all energy in Switzerland would be produced in a “climate-friendly” way, and the ban on new nuclear plants would be lifted.

With his proposal, Rösti hopes that the referendum will be withdrawn.

Nuclear power in Switzerland

As anyone who has received iodine tablets through the post will tell you, Switzerland is still home to three nuclear power plants (Beznau, Gösgen and Leibstadt) which combined produced 37 percent of the country’s energy in 2022. However, since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011, the government has begun phasing out nuclear power. 

After the Swiss Energy Act was approved at a referendum in 2017, new nuclear power plants have been banned, with officials hoping to close the last operating plant by 2044.

Swiss nuclear power seen as path to self-sufficiency

However, recent fears of energy shortages, provoked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, have thrown Switzerland's energy dependence on other countries into sharp relief. Around 70 percent of Swiss energy needs are imported from abroad, with most coming from non-renewable sources.

With this in mind, and the fact that Switzerland has been slow to embrace solar and wind power, nuclear power is back on the agenda as a possible stopgap for ensuring the country’s energy supply and as a way for it to achieve its climate goals on time. "It is a step in the right direction," electricity company Axpo wrote back in February.

Opponents raise safety and financial concerns

However, many within the Federal Council itself have voiced opposition to the plan. According to the Tages-Anzeiger, some in the executive feel it is too early to consult the people on nuclear power, given the last vote was only seven years ago. 

Others have argued that the safety concerns around nuclear power are just as apparent now as they were when voters last went to the ballot box on the issue. With “Swiss electricity companies saying very openly that they have no financial interest in building a new nuclear power plant,” according to the Tages-Anzeiger, there are also fears that the government will end up having to subsidise and fund new power plants once the ban is lifted.

Federal Council likely to overturn new nuclear plant ban

With FDP. The Liberals and the Swiss People’s Party occupying four of the seven seats in the Federal Council, the Tages-Anzeiger predicted that the government will submit a plan to lift the nuclear power plant ban in the coming months. However, equally as likely is the prospect that opposition groups will garner enough signatures to make the plan subject to a referendum.