The nuclear industry breathed a sigh of relief on August 30 when the Energy Committee of the Council of States (Swiss Senate) voted unanimously across party lines for a text banning nuclear reactors of the present generation, but stating that "new reactors can be built if at some future date clean and safe technology becomes available on the market." The Council of States is the last hurdle for the phase-out of nuclear power announced by Energy Minister Doris Leuthard just days after Japan's nuclear disaster in Fukushima, when she froze applications for three third generation reactors. The lower house, the National Council, has endorsed the government's new strategy. The issue goes before the full Council of States on September 28.
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