Switzerland votes on nuclear power phase out process
Switzerland votes against strict timetable for nuclear power phase out
(about 9 hours later)
Swiss voters are casting their ballots to decide whether or not to speed up the process of phasing out the country's nuclear power plants.
People in Switzerland voting in a referendum have rejected a proposal to introduce a strict timetable for phasing out nuclear power.
If voters choose "yes" in Sunday's referendum, it would force three of the country's five reactors to close next year, and the remaining two by 2029.
A projection for SRF public television showed the initiative failing by 55% to 45%.
A majority of cantons (Swiss states) voted against the initiative.
The plan, backed by the Green Party, would have meant closing three of Switzerland's five nuclear plants next year, with the last shutting in 2029.
The five plants currently generate 40% of Switzerland's electricity.
The five plants currently generate 40% of Switzerland's electricity.
Polls suggest a tight race on the issue, which is being championed by environmentalists.
After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, the Swiss government said it would gradually move the country towards renewable energy by 2050.
The Swiss Greens and Social Democrats have been pressing for a vote since the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, arguing that Swiss plants are ageing and unsafe.
It said nuclear plants should continue to operate as long as they are deemed safe, but did not set a precise timetable.
Following the incident, Swiss authorities announced plans for a gradual phase out of nuclear energy but did not specify dates.
Environmentalists have said no nuclear reactors should be allowed to operate for longer than 45 years - meaning that at least two would have had to close almost immediately.
However, government and industry figures argue a quick exit from nuclear power could raise reliance on fossil fuels instead of renewable energy and possibly lead to power shortages.
But business leaders and the government said shutting them down too quickly could lead to power shortages and raise reliance on fossil fuels.
Recent opinion polls show the "yes" and "no" camps to be neck-and-neck.
Will Swiss say 'no thanks' to nuclear power? By Imogen Foulkes in Geneva
Although Switzerland's government already has a plan to decommission the country's five nuclear plants "at the end of their natural lives", opponents of nuclear power claim the strategy is too vague, and may allow the plants to keep operating indefinitely.
The proposal before voters, brought by the Green party, calls for nuclear plants to be closed after a maximum 45 years in operation, and for a ban on construction of any new plants.
This would mean that three of the five plants would have to shut next year, the fourth in 2024 and the last in 2029.
Switzerland is a densely populated country, none of its five plants is more than 70km (43 miles) from urban centres and the government issues iodine tablets to communities within a certain radius, to be taken in case of a release of radioactive material.
Due to public concern, no new nuclear power stations have been built in Switzerland since 1984.
