By Xinhua,
Geneva : A Swiss energy firm has said it wants to build a new nuclear power station, the country’s first in over 20 years, in a bid to secure energy supplies over the coming decades.
Energy group Atel said Tuesday it had submitted to the government its plans for a new nuclear power plant to be set up near Olten in northern Switzerland, near the existing Goesgen nuclear facility.
Switzerland had observed a moratorium on nuclear projects throughout the 1990s. However, the government has in recent years been eager to produce more energy, including nuclear energy, in order to meet increasing demand.
Meanwhile, some anti-nuclear groups have announced a plan to seek a popular referendum on the issue.
Switzerland has five nuclear reactors generating 38 percent of the country’s electricity. The last nuclear facility was built in 1984.