Swiss reserve power plant to be operational by February

A new 250-megawatt power plant in northern Switzerland will be functional on February 15, its operator General Electric (GE) confirmed on Monday.

This content was published on November 28, 2022 - 11:56 November 28, 2022 - 11:56

swissinfo.ch/mga

The reserve plant was ordered by the governmentExternal link in September in response to potential power shortages this winter. It will have eight turbines fitted out to operate with gas, oil or hydrogen.

The temporary back-up facility, costing CHF460 million ($485 million), is slated to remain in place in Birr until 2026. Once operational, it will generate around a quarter of the energy provided by the Leibstadt nuclear power plant.

Like many European countries, Switzerland is facing the prospect of power shortages, primarily as a result of Russia restricting gas imports following its invasion of Ukraine.

The first gas turbines have already been delivered to the Birr plant and will be connected next month in readiness for testing, GE said.

The government has toned down environmental and noise restrictions for the plant as it is deemed of vital importance to energy security.

Articles in this story

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

---

The views expressed in content distributed by Newstex and its re-distributors (collectively, "Newstex Authoritative Content") are solely those of the respective author(s) and not necessarily the views of Newstex et al. It is provided as general information only on an "AS IS" basis, without warranties and conferring no rights, which should not be relied upon as professional advice. Newstex et al. make no claims, promises or guarantees regarding its accuracy or completeness, nor as to the quality of the opinions and commentary contained therein.