Energy strategy 2050

The Energy Strategy 2050 is a package of measures that was adopted in a Swiss-wide referendum on May 21, 2017 . Against the background of the planned nuclear phase-out , it is intended to provide the country with long-term electrical energy supply, including measures to increase energy efficiency, lower CO ₂ emissions and promote renewable energies . One goal is to reduce Switzerland's dependence on imported fossil fuels. The package also includes a license ban for new nuclear power plants.

Overview of the measures

• The building program to promote energy-efficient renovations is being expanded and supported with a maximum of CHF 450 million per year from the income from the CO ₂ levy .
• Large electricity consumers can be exempted from the CO ₂ levy if they commit to increasing electricity efficiency and reducing their CO ₂ emissions.
• Emissions from passenger cars will be limited to an average of 95 g CO ₂ / km by the end of 2020 . This corresponds to around 4.1 liters of petrol or 3.6 liters of diesel per 100 km.
• The efficiency regulations for electrical devices are being expanded to include other device categories and gradually tightened in line with the state of the art.
• The grid surcharge or KEV of 1.5 cents per kWh today will be increased to 2.3 cents.
• The system of the cost-covering feed-in tariff (KEV) is being converted in favor of direct marketing. In the future, operators should receive higher remuneration if they feed in electricity when it is needed.
• Smaller photovoltaic systems below 30 kW receive one-off payments of a maximum of 30% of the investment costs.

In April 2016, the Federal Council decided on a strategy for the further development of the state's electricity grid in order to ensure the security of electricity supply over the long term. This facilitates network development in various framework conditions. As early as 2013, Parliament passed the Action Plan for Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland , which supported energy research with 202 million francs for the 2013–2016 period . Smart meters are an integral part of the Energy Strategy 2050.

The Energy Strategy 2050 was passed on September 30, 2016 by both the National Council and the Council of States with a clear majority.

referendum

In August 2016, the Alliance Energie initiative announced that it would initiate a referendum against the program. The SVP followed this step in October 2016. The referendum is supported, among others, by the associations Swissmem , Gastrosuisse , Astag , Swiss Plastics , Swissoil and Auto Schweiz, the Taxpayers' Association , the young free-spirited as well as nuclear-friendly and wind power-critical groups. The business associations Economiesuisse and trade association rejected the referendum. The program criticized in particular massive interventions in all areas of life and the high costs that citizens would have to face. On January 19, the SVP submitted 68,500 certified signatures. The Swiss people were thus able to decide on the implementation of the Energy Strategy 2050 on May 21, 2017.

Opinion polls

Institute	Client	date	Yes	Rather yes	Tie No answer	Rather no	No
Leemann / waterfalls	Tamedia	5th May 2017	48	5	2	4th	41
possibly Bern	SRG SSR	April 29, 2017	34	22nd	7th	10	27
Leemann / waterfalls	Tamedia	April 25, 2017	47	8th	3	7th	35
Leemann / waterfalls	Tamedia	April 7, 2017	48	8th	2	7th	35
possibly Bern	SRG SSR	23rd March 2017	33	28	9	11	19th

Comments: Figures in percent. The date indicates the middle point in time of the survey, not the point in time when the survey was published.

Voting results

Results by canton

The energy strategy came to the vote on May 21, 2017. It was accepted by the people with a yes share of 58.2%, which means that the referendum of opponents of the program failed.

Yes

No

Energy Strategy 2050 - preliminary official final result

Canton	Yes (votes)	Yes (%)	Vote no)	No (%)	Participation (%)
Aargau	085,056	48.2%	091,280	51.8%	42.1%
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	009,323	53.8%	007,991	46.2%	44.9%
Appenzell Innerrhoden	002,303	56.0%	001'809	44.0%	35.8%
Basel-Country	042,251	53.4%	036,891	46.6%	42.8%
Basel city	034,995	63.4%	020,160	36.6%	49.2%
Bern	166'071	55.5%	132,930	44.5%	40.7%
Freiburg	048,468	63.2%	028'258	36.8%	38.8%
Geneva	079,311	72.5%	030,013	27.5%	43.2%
Glarus	004,119	43.7%	005,300	56.3%	35.9%
Grisons	030,963	58.7%	021,748	41.3%	38.8%
law	012,304	62.7%	007,312	37.3%	37.9%
Lucerne	072,209	58.5%	051,319	41.5%	45.5%
Neuchâtel	029,884	69.6%	013,048	30.4%	38.7%
Nidwalden	006,983	50.6%	006,826	49.4%	45.1%
Obwalden	006,364	49.8%	006'415	50.2%	49.3%
Schaffhausen	016'251	51.2%	015,506	48.8%	65.2%
Schwyz	021,452	44.2%	027,077	55.8%	47.0%
Solothurn	038,976	50.6%	038,072	49.4%	43.5%
St. Gallen	068,346	52.2%	062,523	47.8%	40.9%
Ticino	051,831	56.7%	039,515	43.3%	42.4%
Thurgau	033,955	51.4%	032,116	48.6%	39.5%
Uri	005,128	51.7%	004,787	48.3%	37.7%
Vaud	137,451	73.5%	049,514	26.5%	43.1%
Valais	057,831	63.4%	033'414	36.6%	42.4%
train	019,139	53.8%	016,407	46.2%	47.1%
Zurich	240,983	58.8%	168,938	41.2%	45.1%
Switzerland	1,321,947	58.2%	949,169	41.8%	42.4%

Debate after the vote

• The federal government's National Research Programs (NRP) 70 (“Energiewende”) and 71 (“Controlling Energy Consumption”) have carried out extensive studies on the technological, economic and social factors involved in the transformation of Switzerland's energy system. According to Hans-Rudolf Schachler, Head of NRP 70, the conclusion is as follows: "The phase-out from fossil fuels and nuclear energy is possible by 2050 if we want to." The electrification of energy supply and transport would create a complex energy system. The different energy source and storage systems would have to be coordinated in a digitally organized coordination service. Andreas Balthasar, head of NRP 71, states that the difficulties in the implementation arise mainly from the lack of knowledge about the feasibility of solutions and the risk aversion to new solutions on the part of parliament and the population. The changes necessary for the implementation of the energy transition are only feasible through a combination of technical and social innovations. The planned technical innovations include the use of photovoltaics not only on roofs, but also on building facades and integrated in windows, compressed air storage systems in mountain tunnels and geothermal energy for heating buildings. However, the energy transition is also a challenge for society. A broad acceptance for changes would have to be achieved in order to realize energy saving on a large scale. To this end, CO ₂ steering taxes would have to be introduced on petrol and diesel. Electricity companies should introduce dynamic tariff models which make saving electricity more profitable. The federal government and the cantons should also introduce additional, targeted regulations for buildings and traffic in order to increase energy efficiency. The cost of the renovation is estimated at around 100 billion Swiss francs over a period of 30 years.

• According to Eduard Kiener , former director of the Federal Office of Energy, the Federal Office for Civil Protection recorded in a comprehensive analysis in 2015 that a power shortage was the most serious threat to society and the economy in Switzerland, even before a pandemic, an earthquake or a nuclear power plant accident. With the exception of photovoltaics, the potentials of renewable energy sources assumed in the Energy Strategy 2050 increasingly turned out to be unrealistic. With increasing dependency on electricity imports, Switzerland is dependent on purchasing electricity in the European electricity market, especially in the winter months. It must be learned from the experience with the corona pandemic that national electricity generation should be ensured. If there is a shortage of their own, other countries are unwilling to supply Switzerland with electricity. Newly built gas-fired power plants and additional electricity storage systems are necessary, with the state having to step in because of their lack of profitability.

• The two economists Silvio Borner and Bernt Schips are critical of the economic viability of the planned energy transition . In particular, they point to the weather-dependent electricity production of solar and wind power systems and describe these types of electricity generation as fluttering electricity , which can neither be planned nor controlled. For the marketability of this alternative electricity generation, its share of the total electricity demand plays a decisive role. The higher their share, the more often there are temporary overproduction and thus so-called intermittency costs, which have to be added to the production costs. They claim that for the next 20 to 30 years no business model for seasonal compensation is foreseeable in order to make the electricity generated from alternative sources economically available as needed. The more is invested in these forms of alternative electricity production, the less profitable they become for the providers. Therefore, subsidies would have to increase accordingly, which would mean additional costs for consumers and / or taxpayers.

• Other critics such as Hans Rentsch and Edwin Somm refer to the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 with regard to electricity as an “import strategy”. In the winter months in particular, electricity imports from neighboring countries are expected for many years to come. A study commissioned by the Federal Office of Energy came to the conclusion in October 2017 that electricity imports will be central to future security of supply. It is doubtful whether our previous main electricity suppliers in Germany and France will be able to supply us with electricity in the future. The European network operator association is said to have warned in 2015 that Germany would be forced to import itself from 2025 onwards. According to plan, all nuclear power plants in Germany will have ceased operations from 2023. In contrast to Switzerland and Germany, France has no intention of phasing out nuclear energy. Nevertheless, according to the European network operators association, this country will probably have too little electricity for its own use from 2025 onwards. Electricity demand in France is particularly high in winter because many households there are heated with electricity. In order to guarantee security of supply in Switzerland from around 2025 and not risk a comprehensive blackout, these two authors see the most important step as the rapid construction of combined cycle power plants , which could be put into operation temporarily in the event of bottlenecks.

• Carlo Schmid-Sutter , President of the Federal Electricity Commission (Elcom) , who resigned at the end of 2019, sees the security of electricity supply in Switzerland at risk in the future. When all Swiss nuclear power plants are shut down around 2035, the resulting supply gap will have to be closed through alternative, additionally installed own energy generation and imported electricity, especially in the winter half-year. With the expansion rate for renewable energy in 2019, it would take over 100 years to replace the nuclear power that is no longer available in Switzerland. The availability of imported electricity is subject to fluctuations and is subject to risk. To ensure security of supply, additional seasonal storage facilities (reservoirs and / or possibly storage facilities with new technologies) and reserve power plants would have to be built. However, such larger projects are not profitable under the economic conditions of 2019 because security of supply is not yet a recognized economic good with a price. Carlo Schmid-Sutter therefore advocates the use of public funds for this purpose.

• The official Energy Strategy 2050 does not take into account the interdependence of different energy sources. The electrification of transport will reduce the use of fossil fuels, but at the same time increase electricity consumption. The same applies to the conversion from oil and gas heating to heat pumps. When three quarters of all households switched to electric heat pumps and 20 percent of the kilometers driven by cars to electric drives, the EMPA calculated an additional electricity requirement of 13.7 terawatt hours. This considerable additional requirement was not taken into account in the energy strategy and must be generated additionally. It corresponds to more than half of the nuclear power generated in Switzerland in 2019. From the author's point of view, even with accelerated expansion of photovoltaics and additional electricity generation by means of hydropower, reserve systems are necessary, especially in winter, to ensure security of supply. Since gas power plants operated only for a short time are not economical, the state would have to step in.

• In an interview, the President of the Swiss electricity industry, Michael Wider, comments on this topic. In many cases, investments in new domestic electricity systems today are not worthwhile due to a distorted market for electricity across Europe. The Swiss consumer should be prepared to pay for clean and safe care. In particular, a financial incentive should be created as a kind of insurance premium that operators of storage power plants keep water reserves for short periods in the winter half-year (winter precaution).

• The economic historian Tobias Straumann believes that the planned energy turnaround with the Marshall Plan after World War II, the "Green New Deal" with the "New Deal" reminiscent of US President Theodore Roosevelt , or the European "Green Deal" with the US Apollo space program can be compared. The special thing about the envisaged energy transition is the long-term nature of the 30-year period and the plans of democratic states to carry out such an ambitious restructuring of the economic system.

Web links

• Energy Strategy 2050 on the website of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication
• Energy strategy 2050 on the website of the Federal Office of Energy
• Information on the Energy Strategy 2050 on the blog of the Federal Office of Energy
• Energy strategy 2050 on the parlament.ch website
• FAZ.net: Discouraged Swiss (comment)
• NZZ.ch: The energy lobbyists have won (comment)
• Mark Z. Jacobson et al .: 100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water and Sunlight All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World (including Switzerland). Stanford University. Joule 1, pp. 108–121, September 6, 2017, accessed January 11, 2020

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Fact sheet «Energy supply in Switzerland and international development»
2. ^ Revised Energy Act. (PDF) In: Bundesblatt, BBl 2016 7683. Retrieved on June 2, 2017 . 
3. ↑ Convert grams of CO2 per km (petrol) to liters per 100 kilometers - convert fuel consumption online. In: UnitJuggler. Retrieved January 9, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Network development & # 150; Electricity grid strategy. In: www.bfe.admin.ch. Retrieved January 3, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Federal Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication DETEC: Overview of the measures of the Energy Strategy 2050. In: www.uvek.admin.ch. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017 ; Retrieved January 3, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Smart grids. In: Federal Office for Energy. Retrieved January 13, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Nico Häusler: Energy Strategy 2050: Milestone achieved. In: Blog of the Federal Office of Energy. September 30, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 . 
8. ↑ Helmut Stalder: The energy transition should come before the people. NZZ, October 7, 2016, accessed on January 9, 2017
9. ^ Bipartisan committee takes referendum against the energy law. In: www.svp.ch. Retrieved January 3, 2017 . 
10. ↑ SVP submits signatures against the energy strategy . In: watson.ch . ( watson.ch [accessed January 20, 2017]).
11. ↑ What is the referendum on the Energy Strategy 2050 about? Information on the blog of the Federal Office of Energy, as of November 7, 2016,
12. ↑ Template No. 612.Swiss Federal Chancellery, May 21, 2017, accessed on May 21, 2017 . 
13. ↑ National Research Programs 70 and 71. Swiss National Fund for the Promotion of Scientific Research, accessed on January 16, 2020 . 
14. ↑ Getting out is possible ... if we want - NFP [No.]. Retrieved January 16, 2020 . 
15. ↑ Der Bund, Tamedia Espace AG: "Holidays in the Maldives are considered quality of life" . ISSN  0774-6156 ( derbund.ch [accessed on January 16, 2020]).
16. ↑ Stefan Häne and Martin Läubli: "Holidays in the Maldives are considered quality of life" . In: Tages-Anzeiger . January 14, 2020, ISSN  1422-9994 ( tagesanzeiger.ch [accessed on January 16, 2020]).
17. ↑ Helmut Stalder: Researchers are pushing for an incentive tax on all fossil fuels. NZZ, January 14, 2020, accessed on January 17, 2020
18. ↑ Eduard Kiener: Corona crisis - a prolonged power outage would be catastrophic. NZZ, May 6, 2020, accessed on May 6, 2020
19. ↑ Silvio Borner and Bernd Schips: The horse's foot of the Energy Strategy 2050. Solar and wind energy will never be marketable in Switzerland. NZZ, September 8, 2018, accessed on September 16, 2018
20. ^ ^{A b} Hans Rentsch: Energiewende: «Post-Truth» in the model democracy. NZZ, June 1, 2018, accessed on November 15, 2019
21. ^ ^{A b} Edwin Somm: So that Switzerland doesn't run out of electricity. NZZ, September 25, 2018, accessed on November 15, 2019
22. ↑ ^{a b} Christoph Eisenring: After Mühleberg a nuclear power plant in southern Germany is also shut down - the dependency on imports increases. NZZ December 31, 2019, accessed January 1, 2020
23. ↑ Helmut Stalder: Elcom President: "Gas-fired power plants must be relieved of taboos." NZZ, December 20, 2019, accessed on December 23, 2019
24. ^ Helmut Stalder: Gas power plants despite the climate crisis. In: NZZ , January 8, 2020, p. 12
25. ↑ Helmut Stadler: Switzerland has to expand its electricity production - but the electricity industry prefers to invest abroad . NZZ, June 22, 2020, accessed on June 22, 2020.
26. ↑ Tobias Straumann: The energy transition is an unprecedented experiment. NZZ on Sunday, January 18, 2020, accessed on January 20, 2020