Swiss voters to decide on new nuclear power plants

More than 125,000 signatures have been collected for a referendum against the construction of new nuclear power plants in Switzerland, SRF reported. That is more than twice the 50,000 signatures required, meaning voters are likely to decide the issue at the ballot box.

The alliance Nein zu neuen AKW, or No to New Nuclear Power Plants, plans to submit the signatures to the Federal Chancellery on October 6. If the referendum is formally approved, the earliest possible voting date would be February 28, 2027.

The referendum is backed by the Social Democratic Party, the Greens, the Green Liberals, parts of the Centre Party and organisations including the Swiss Energy Foundation and Greenpeace Switzerland.

They oppose Parliament’s narrowly approved counterproposal to the popular initiative Jederzeit Strom für alle, or Reliable Electricity for All, also known as Stop the Blackout. The initiative’s organisers have conditionally withdrawn it, saying the counterproposal already meets its central demand by lifting the ban on nuclear power plants.

The referendum committee accuses the Federal Council and Parliament of pursuing policies against the wishes of the population. It says voters have clearly supported a future based on renewable energy in previous referendums.

Switzerland’s newest nuclear power plant, in Gösgen, began operating in 1979.