Annual report 2008/09 - Axpo Group

Electricity from nuclear energy is a supporting pillar of the
Swiss electricity supply system. As this not only keeps
electricity prices low but also ensures low CO2 emissions, it
is clear to Axpo that these benefi ts must be secured for
the future – in Switzerland and worldwide.
Hybrid cooling towers for Beznau and
Mühleberg
The replacement nuclear power plants at
Beznau and Mühleberg will have increased
output. Moreover, they will no longer need
river water for cooling. Instead, cooling will
take place by means of hybrid cooling towers
which, at a height of approximately 60
metres, are substantially lower than “traditional”
cooling towers such as the 150 metrehigh
tower at Gösgen. They therefore do
not spoil the landscape to the same extent.
The second major benefi t lies in the fact
that they release hardly any visible steam
because the steam is mixed with dry,
warm air.
From nuclear power plant to recycling
When they are removed from the reactor after
three to four years’ service life, spent
fuel rods contain only 4 % radioactive waste,
while the remaining 96 % of the fuel can
still be used as nuclear fuel. The re-usable
nuclear fuel is separated from the highlevel
radioactive waste at reprocessing
plants, such as the plant at La Hague in
France, and is available again for electricity
generation.
The fi ve Swiss nuclear power plants have an annual output of
around 25 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, thereby cover -
ing 40% of Swiss electricity production. Nuclear energy is not
only extremely competitive – current production costs amount
to approximately 6 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity – but
it is also very climate-friendly. If we consider the CO2 output
for the whole cycle from the mining of the uranium to the disposal
of the radioactive waste, nuclear energy comes second
only to hydropower. If the electricity produced in Switzerland
by nuclear energy were to be generated in modern gas-fi red
combined cycle power plants, the same volume of CO2 would
be released into the air as is currently emitted by all the car
traffi c in Switzerland.
Replacement nuclear power plants urgently needed
Switzerland is likely to see a power supply shortage from 2020
onwards, when the oldest nuclear power plants at Beznau and
Mühleberg will reach the end of their operating lives and important
electricity import contracts with France will start running
out. The foreseeable supply shortage can only be countered
by replacing the existing nuclear power plants.
As Axpo would like to secure this cost-effective and
low-CO2 supply of electricity for its customers in Switzerland,
it submitted the relevant applications for general licences at
the end of 2008. Advanced third-generation reactors with even
better safety features, greater effi ciency and operating profi tability
will be used in the replacement nuclear power plants
to be built on the present sites.
Uranium reserves will last for a long time
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), the known uranium reserves that are commercially
recoverable will last for another 100 years at current consumption
rates. The map shows the distribution of these reserves.
The speculative reserves for conventionally-mined uranium will
last for more than 300 years.
Source: OECD/IAEO, “Red Book”, 2007
329
339
Canada
USA
157
Niger 243
Brazil
Namibia 176
Ukraine
135
284
Kasakhstan
72
378
172
Uzbekistan
46 Mongolia
44 Jordan
49 China
49 India
South Africa
Australia
725
Russia