Perspectives for nuclear heat in Switzerland

In the framework of an OECD Study on 'Small and Medium-sized Reactors' the Laboratory for Energy Systems of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne and the Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Engineering of the Paul Scherrer Institute, Wuerenlingen have carried out jointly a study under the sponsorship of the Swiss Federal Office for Energy. Its goal was to establish the general criteria that future nuclear plants to be built in Switzerland should fulfil. The time horizon of this study addressed the second decade of the next century and put also emphasis to nuclear heat applications. It based on a questionnaire on key safety, economic and technological issues filled out by specialists of the entire nuclear community (utilities, industry, economy, science, public associations). The study indicated that primary weight is given to combined production of electricity and heat, this being attractive from both an energetic and an economic viewpoint. This paper presents the results of this study concerning nuclear heat applications in connection to the general energy boundary conditions in Switzerland (heat demand, resources, technical potential, legislative background). (author) 6 figs., 6 refs