High earthquake protection of Beznau NPP confirmed

The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI has published its report on the assembly deviation on two of six emergency diesel generators at the Beznau nuclear power plant (KKB). ENSI concludes that KKB was safe and protected against earthquakes despite the assembly deviation.

As a consequence of Fukushima, ENSI increased the earthquake protection requirements for all Swiss nuclear power plants in 2012. At that time, KKB provided the necessary verifications with a positive result. In 2020, however, the assembly deviations on the emergency diesels were discovered. As a result, it only became clear in retrospect that the formal requirements had not been fully met in the event of an earthquake, which is to be expected only once every 10,000 years. This resulted in a formal deviation during two months (April and May 2012). With the commissioning of two retrofitted diesel generators in June 2012, the requirements were met again according to the authority.

Thanks to various retrofits and other measures, ENSI certifies that the KKB has a very high level of earthquake safety. Over the past decades, Axpo has invested around CHF 2.5 billion in the reliability and safety of the plant. During the months of April and May 2012, the level of earthquake protection was the same as in the months and years before.

In the meantime, KKB has analysed the reasons for the non-detection of the assembly deviation and various measures are being implemented. For example, additional checks are being carried out on ongoing projects to determine whether the components supplied correspond to the design. In addition, existing processes are being analysed and adjusted if necessary.

Axpo Holding AG

Corporate Communications

medien@axpo.com

T 0800 44 11 00 (Schweiz) 
T +41 56 200 41 10 (International)

(08.00 - 17.30)

More media releases

Show all

Renewable energy 21.09.2023

Axpo, Nobian and WIRCON sign long-term solar PPA in Netherlands

Axpo and leading industrial chemicals manufacturer Nobian have signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) in the Netherlands, the companies announced today. The PPA will see Axpo provide solar power to Nobian’s operations at Delfzijl from a facility developed by WIRCON, a large and growing international solar energy developer.

Read more

Renewable energy 12.09.2023

Axpo plans another alpine solar plant in Ilanz/Glion

Axpo is pushing forward with its solar offensive in Switzerland, which was launched in 2022, and is planning to build an approximately 15-MWp ground-mounted installation in Ilanz/Glion in the canton of Graubünden. According to current planning, the plant is expected to generate around 22 gigawatt hours of sustainable electricity per year, a significant amount of which will be generated in the cold winter months. The project is intended to be a model of how nature, leisure activities and energy production can be combined.

Read more

International business 04.09.2023

Axpo and Kolektor sign first financial PPA in Slovenia

Axpo has secured its latest long-term corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) for renewable energy in south-eastern Europe, it was announced today. The ground-breaking deal, the first ever financial corporate PPA in Slovenia, was concluded with the Kolektor group, a global supplier of specialised industrial products, headquartered in Slovenia.

Read more