26/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - Plan to phase out nuclear option in Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Council recommended to the Swiss parliament on 25 May that power plants reaching the end of their life should not be replaced by new nuclear plants with a view to phasing out the nuclear option by 2024. This would be “technically possible and also feasible from the economic point of view”, he states. Switzerland has five nuclear reactors, all in the German-speaking region and providing 40% of electricity needs: Beznau I should be disconnected from the grid in 2019, Beznau II and Mühleberg in 2022, Gösgen in 2029 and Leibstadt in 2034. In March, the Federal Council suspended the adoption process for three new sites pending safety testing. In early May, the Swiss safety authorities identified four plants with weaknesses on spent fuel storage tanks, including assembly cooling systems, which are insufficiently protected against earthquakes and flooding. (E.H./transl.jl)