It was a “ooooooooh” of disappointment that resounded in the National hall on Tuesday at around 1 p.m. This cry was raised by the right which narrowly failed, by 97 votes to 88, to pass a UDC postulate which wanted to establish the conditions necessary for the construction of new nuclear power plants in Switzerland. A postulate of the same nature had, however, been accepted in the Council of States.
“With the law passed this weekend, it will not be possible to guarantee a secure supply of electricity,” argued the author of the postulate, Erich Hess (UDC/BE). Wind turbines and solar parks in the mountains will not be enough; nuclear energy will be essential, according to him. This is why he wanted to clarify the conditions that potential investors in new 3rd or 4th generation nuclear power plants must meet. “Hundreds of new reactors are under construction or planned around the world. We must not let ourselves be left behind.”
Energy Minister Albert Rösti was opposed to the postulate while recognizing that it was not closing the door to nuclear power. “Due to the long construction time of new power plants, the milestones must be laid on time. And I have already said that we must not close ourselves off to new technologies,” he said. “But for the short and medium term – that is, for the next 10-15 years – we decided on Sunday what to do.”
Then, “the technique will evolve and we will arrive in time to set the necessary milestones,” he continued. It will then be possible to assess the costs. It was followed by the left and the Center, to the great dismay of the UDC and the PLR.
