Kernkraftwerk Gösgen — Switzerland

Kernkraftwerk Gösgen is a 1,060 MW nuclear power station in Solothurn, Switzerland. It is operated by Kernkraftwerk Gösgen-Däniken AG. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 2.4 million homes (estimated). It ranks #4 of 174 Switzerland power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1979, it is around 47 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 29.9% of Switzerland's electricity; the national grid averages 39 gCO₂/kWh (97.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1004272.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000500106; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,060 MW, Kernkraftwerk Gösgen is well above the median nuclear plant in Switzerland (950 MW). Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Switzerland nuclear capacity

19.0% of 5,582 MW across 7 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

2 of 5 dated nuclear plants in Switzerland are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest nuclear plants in Switzerland

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Kernkraftwerk Gösgen-Däniken AG.

Local climate & thermal context

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 47.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 38% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 73/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #3 largest nuclear power plant of 7 in Switzerland by capacity.

Switzerland has 7 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 5,582 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Aarau Stadt · Hydro · 16.9 MW · Aargau
• Neuendorf · Solar · 5.2 MW · Solothurn
• Wynau · Hydro · 12 MW · Bern
• Birr power station · Gas · 250.4 MW · Birr
• Rheinkraftwerk Säckingen · Hydro · 36.8 MW · Baden-Wuerttemberg
• Laufenburg · Hydro · 106 MW · Aargau

Location

Coordinates 47.3656, 7.968 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions