Beznau nuclear power plant: Unit 1 back on grid

20.03.2018 - Unit 1 of the Beznau nuclear power plant (KKB) is back on grid following the approval of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) and after undergoing extensive tests and inspections during commissioning. The plant will once again make a valuable contribution to domestic energy production and the security of supply in Switzerland, and, hence support the Energy Strategy 2050 adopted by Swiss voters.

In addition to providing the safety case for the reactor pressure vessel of Unit 1, extensive moderni-sation and maintenance work that would normally have been performed during plant operation was carried out during the shutdown.

• The major projects launched in mid-March of 2015 including an additional earthquake and flood-proof emergency power supply system, the replacement of the reactor pressure vessel head, and the commissioning of a new plant information system were successfully completed with the commissioning.
• During the last three years, a total of some 9,000 periodically recurring maintenance tasks and over 20,000 routine inspections of plant systems and components were performed.

The most recent, thorough and resource-intensive inspections in the course of the reactor pressure vessel safety case process confirm that the plant fulfils all the safety-technical requirements for long-term operation of 60 years.

The plant will take up full-load operation in the upcoming days. At times, steam will be emitted from the non-nuclear section of plant. This does not pose any danger to human beings or the environment.