Chavalon

The Chavalon Plant is a former thermal power station built in the municipality of Vouvry, Switzerland, to address the wintertime electricity production deficits of Swiss hydropower.

Built-in 1965, Vouvry’s plant was Switzerland’s sole oil-fired power station.

The chosen site was not an automatic pick—quite the opposite. After several locations proved unsuitable, the project was relocated in 1963 to Vouvry, where the ventilation conditions were optimal. The chimney height could be set at 120 meters to vent the plant’s smoke at the height of nearly 950 meters above sea level.

The plant construction commenced in September 1963 with a 1.2-kilometre access road. The first unit became operational in 1965, and the second two years later. Although the plant was designed to meet winter consumption needs, in the early 1970s, it operated from September to June to meet increased electricity demand.

The first oil crisis of 1973 led to a reduction in Chavalon’s production. The second oil crisis in 1979 exacerbated the constant annual losses, leading to an inescapable decline. It survived until July 1999, when it was announced that the plant would be closed. In 2022, the Chavalon site was identified as one of the potential new gas plants required to mitigate the risk of an electricity shortage in the country.