Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant
Encyclopedia
The Nuclear power
station Leibstadt, abbreviated KKL, is in the municipality Leibstadt
(canton Aargau
, Switzerland) on the Rhine River close of the Aare delta and the German
border. It is so far the last nuclear power station built in Switzerland.
A boiling water reactor
built there by the company General Electric
with 1,220 MW of electrical power serves the power demands of the area, the cooling is done via a cooling tower
. The nuclear power station has produced approximately 8.5 TWh
per year, slightly less than the power station Gösgen
.
The power station is owned by Leibstadt AG (KKL), which is composed of six Swiss energy companies: the Aare Tessin AG for electricity (Atel) with 27%, the northeast power stations AG (NOK) with 23%, the central-Swiss power stations AG (CKW) with 14%, the electricity company running castle AG (EGL) with 16%, the Bern power stations AG (BKW FMB energy AG) with 10% and the Aargauer of power stations AG (AEW energy AG) with 5 %. The management was originally done by the EGL, but with establishment of the Axpo it was consolidated within the Axpo group, so whereby today the NOK is the manager. The plant also houses a 380 kV switchyard for Beznau
.
The KKL is an old project, planning began 1964 for a 600 MW reactor with river water cooling. With the prohibition of the river water cooling by the Swiss Federal Council
in 1971 a cooling tower
solution was favored. In the further planning process the output was increased to 600 and then 900 MW. In 1984 the plant started after an eleven-year construction period. After the Three Mile Island accident
in the year 1979 new safety regulations were implemented, and the completion was delayed several years. While the budget was originally set for 2,000,000,000 Swiss franc
s, and the end of construction it had amounted to over 5,000,000,000 francs
.
The history of the completion of the KKL reflected increasingly critical attitudes toward Nuclear power in Switzerland
during the 1970s and 1980s, which culminated in the resistance the Kaiseraugst Nuclear Power Plant.
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
station Leibstadt, abbreviated KKL, is in the municipality Leibstadt
Leibstadt
Leibstadt is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Leibstadt is first mentioned about 1240 as Leibesteit. In the 13th and 14th Centuries it was ruled by the Habsburgs. In 1323 two mills are mentioned in Leibstadt...
(canton Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
, Switzerland) on the Rhine River close of the Aare delta and the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
border. It is so far the last nuclear power station built in Switzerland.
A boiling water reactor
Boiling water reactor
The boiling water reactor is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor , also a type of light water nuclear reactor...
built there by the company General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
with 1,220 MW of electrical power serves the power demands of the area, the cooling is done via a cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
. The nuclear power station has produced approximately 8.5 TWh
TWH
TWH or twh could refer to:*Tennessee Walking Horse, a breed of horse* Toronto Western Hospital, a hospital in Toronto, Canada* TWH Bus & Coach, a bus company in Romford, England* Terrawatt-hour, measure of electrical energy, 1012 watt-hours...
per year, slightly less than the power station Gösgen
Goesgen Nuclear Power Plant
The Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Däniken municipality on a loop of the Aar river. It is operated by the ad hoc society Kernkraftwerk Gösgen-Däniken AG.- Construction :The first discussions about the construction of the third Swiss nuclear power plant started in 1966...
.
The power station is owned by Leibstadt AG (KKL), which is composed of six Swiss energy companies: the Aare Tessin AG for electricity (Atel) with 27%, the northeast power stations AG (NOK) with 23%, the central-Swiss power stations AG (CKW) with 14%, the electricity company running castle AG (EGL) with 16%, the Bern power stations AG (BKW FMB energy AG) with 10% and the Aargauer of power stations AG (AEW energy AG) with 5 %. The management was originally done by the EGL, but with establishment of the Axpo it was consolidated within the Axpo group, so whereby today the NOK is the manager. The plant also houses a 380 kV switchyard for Beznau
Beznau Nuclear Power Plant
The Beznau Nuclear Power Plant is located in the municipality Döttingen on an artificial island in the Aar river...
.
The KKL is an old project, planning began 1964 for a 600 MW reactor with river water cooling. With the prohibition of the river water cooling by the Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
in 1971 a cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
solution was favored. In the further planning process the output was increased to 600 and then 900 MW. In 1984 the plant started after an eleven-year construction period. After the Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
in the year 1979 new safety regulations were implemented, and the completion was delayed several years. While the budget was originally set for 2,000,000,000 Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s, and the end of construction it had amounted to over 5,000,000,000 francs
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
.
The history of the completion of the KKL reflected increasingly critical attitudes toward Nuclear power in Switzerland
Nuclear power in Switzerland
Switzerland has four nuclear power plants, with five reactors in operation as of 2008. These plants produced 26.3 TWh in 2007...
during the 1970s and 1980s, which culminated in the resistance the Kaiseraugst Nuclear Power Plant.