Planning for the KKL began in 1964 for a 600 MW reactor. The
Swiss Federal Council opposed direct cooling by river water, replaced in the design in 1971 with a
cooling tower. During further planning the output was increased to 900 and then 1200 MW. In the wake of the 1979
Three Mile Island accident new safety regulations were implemented, delaying completion for several years. The 2 billion
Swiss franc construction budget spiraled to over 5 billion before the plant opened in 1984 after eleven years of construction. The history of the completion of the KKL reflected increasingly critical attitudes toward
nuclear power in Switzerland during the 1970s and 1980s, which culminated in the resistance against the
Kaiseraugst Nuclear Power Plant. With the installation of a new low-pressure turbine in 2010 Leibstadt, achieved an increase of 40 megawatts. A new 420 tonne generator, the heaviest
AIL to be carried on Switzerland's roads, significantly improved the power plants performance. ==Grid connection==