Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant
The Leibstadt NPP
CountrySwitzerland
Coordinates47°36′11″N 8°11′05″E / 47.60306°N 8.18472°E / 47.60306; 8.18472
StatusOperational
Construction began1972
Commission dateMay 24, 1984
Operator(s)Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG
Nuclear power station
Reactor typeBWR
Cooling towers1
Cooling sourceRhine River
Power generation
Units operational1 × 1,220 MW
Nameplate capacity1,220 MW
Capacity factor87.6%
Annual net output9,367 GW·h
External links
Websitewww.kkl.ch
CommonsRelated media on Commons

The Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant (German: Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt, KKL) is located near Leibstadt, canton of Aargau, Switzerland, on the Rhine River and close to the border to Germany. Commissioned in 1984, it is the youngest and most powerful of the country's four operating reactors.

Its General Electric built boiling water reactor produces 1,220 MW of electrical power. The nuclear power station has produced approximately 8.5 TWh per year, slightly less than the power station Gösgen.

It is owned by Leibstadt AG (KKL), a consortium 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 Laufenburg 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.

Planning for the KKL began in 1964 for a 600 MW reactor. The Swiss Federal Council opposed direct cooling by river water, replaced in the design in 1971 with a cooling tower. During further planning the output was increased to 900 and then 1200 MW. In the wake of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident new safety regulations were implemented, delaying completion for several years. The 2 billion Swiss franc construction budget spiraled to over 5 billion before the plant opened in 1984 after eleven years of construction.

With the installation of a new low pressure turbine in 2010 Leibstadt achieved an increase of 40 megawatts. A new 420 Tonne generator,[1] the heaviest AIL to be carried on Switzerland's roads, has significantly improved the power plants performance.

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 against the Kaiseraugst Nuclear Power Plant.

Nuclear events

Year INES level Total
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2018 ?2-–––––2
2015––––––––TBA
201481––––––9
20137–––––––7
Sources: 2018[2] · 2014[3] · 2013[4] · 2012[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Grieves, Shell. "Route To Space Alliance". www.route-to-space.eu. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt meldet INES-1-Vorkommnis wegen Pumpe in Notstandssystem » ENSI". Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI. 28 June 2018. The emergency system was limited for two months.
  3. ↑ "2014 ENSI Oversight Report – ENSI-AN-9252". Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI. 24 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "2013 ENSI Oversight Report – ENSI-AN-8800". Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI. 30 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Regulatory Oversight Report 2012 concerning nuclear safety in Swiss nuclear installations" (PDF). June 2013. p. 20. ENSI rated one event as INES Level 1 — This related to an incident at Unit 2 of the Beznau nuclear power plant where a generator failed to start during a regular function test of the energy diesel generator
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