Lucens nuclear power plant — Switzerland

Lucens nuclear power plant is a retired nuclear power station in Vaud, Switzerland. Its current lifecycle status is “Retired” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. It ranks #119 of 174 Switzerland power plants by installed capacity. 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 GEM_nuc_lucens_switz.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM Global Nuclear Power Tracker September 2025 unit-status sum (retired); fuel: GEM GNPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 7 MW, Lucens nuclear power plant is below the median nuclear plant in Switzerland (950 MW). Technically it is described as heavy water gas-cooled reactor. Its lifecycle status is Retired; it no longer generates electricity. 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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #7 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

• Montcherand · Hydro · 15.5 MW · Vaud
• Sainte - Anne · Hydro · 2.9 MW · Fribourg
• Lessoc · Hydro · 8.6 MW · Vaud
• Montbovon · Hydro · 31 MW · Vaud
• Les Moyats · Hydro · 1.6 MW · Neuchatel
• La Dernier · Hydro · 28 MW · Vaud

Location

Coordinates 46.6927, 6.8272 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions