142 Oscar Van Vliet
A possible third pathway is to use non- renewable natural gas. Gas is not
currently used much for electricity in Switzerland (only for heating and
chemical processes) but expanding its use is an option in the ES2050. The
main risks for this pathway are that natural gas needs to be imported (e.g.
from Russia) and the acceptability of increased air pollution. As we will see
in the following sections, natural gas is neither preferred by the public, nor
necessary for stability of supply. We therefore will not explore this pathway
in depth.
A possible fourth pathway would be based on rapid expansion of (deep)geothermal power. However, earthquakes associated with geothermal tests near St
Gallen and Basel seem to have soured the public mood against geothermal for
the near future, and we will also not explore this pathway in depth.
The ES2050 emphasises domestic renewables, using natural gas as a bridging fuel until sufficient renewable capacity becomes available. Switzerland
therefore has to make a political decision on whether to keep emphasising
domestic generation (though using imported fuels like natural gas and nuclear
fuel) or to start relying on imported electricity year- round. This is not a binary
choice as domestic and imported renewables are potentially complementary
pathways.
Domestic renewables
The first pathway is to increase the capacity for renewables production at home.
A large number of PV panels could fit on existing rooftops in built- up areas,
owned by individuals and companies that also own the buildings. The new
energy law includes a feed- in tariff to support expansion of renewables but the
Swiss home solar industry is still in its infancy compared to Germany, with a
total of 49,000 installations (1.4 GW) completed by 2015.
The expansion of wind power in Switzerland has been even slower than PV
because wind is not particularly strong and consistent in most of the country,
and also because residents opposed to wind turbines have used spatial planning
laws to block their construction. For example, the Kirchleerau–Kulmerau wind
project was effectively blocked by a local referendum that ruled that no turbines
may be built within 700 m of a residential building in that municipality. As a
result, Switzerland had a total of 37 wind turbines in 2015.
The Swiss can also build some additional hydropower but nearly all the best
potential sites are already in use. Much of this pathway therefore centres on
small- scale renewables: rooftop PV, wind projects with a handful of turbines,
and small hydropower plants. In turn, this means that much of the expansion
will be in the hands of private citizens, small and medium- sized businesses, and
municipalities. Federal and cantonal authorities can support this development,
in part through legislation that favours renewables and policies of the utilities
they (jointly) own.
The two main risks to the domestic renewables pathway are the intermittency of solar PV and wind power in Switzerland – which does not have a lot of
A possible third pathway is to use non- renewable natural gas. Gas is not
currently used much for electricity in Switzerland (only for heating and
chemical processes) but expanding its use is an option in the ES2050. The
main risks for this pathway are that natural gas needs to be imported (e.g.
from Russia) and the acceptability of increased air pollution. As we will see
in the following sections, natural gas is neither preferred by the public, nor
necessary for stability of supply. We therefore will not explore this pathway
in depth.
A possible fourth pathway would be based on rapid expansion of (deep)geothermal power. However, earthquakes associated with geothermal tests near St
Gallen and Basel seem to have soured the public mood against geothermal for
the near future, and we will also not explore this pathway in depth.
The ES2050 emphasises domestic renewables, using natural gas as a bridging fuel until sufficient renewable capacity becomes available. Switzerland
therefore has to make a political decision on whether to keep emphasising
domestic generation (though using imported fuels like natural gas and nuclear
fuel) or to start relying on imported electricity year- round. This is not a binary
choice as domestic and imported renewables are potentially complementary
pathways.
Domestic renewables
The first pathway is to increase the capacity for renewables production at home.
A large number of PV panels could fit on existing rooftops in built- up areas,
owned by individuals and companies that also own the buildings. The new
energy law includes a feed- in tariff to support expansion of renewables but the
Swiss home solar industry is still in its infancy compared to Germany, with a
total of 49,000 installations (1.4 GW) completed by 2015.
The expansion of wind power in Switzerland has been even slower than PV
because wind is not particularly strong and consistent in most of the country,
and also because residents opposed to wind turbines have used spatial planning
laws to block their construction. For example, the Kirchleerau–Kulmerau wind
project was effectively blocked by a local referendum that ruled that no turbines
may be built within 700 m of a residential building in that municipality. As a
result, Switzerland had a total of 37 wind turbines in 2015.
The Swiss can also build some additional hydropower but nearly all the best
potential sites are already in use. Much of this pathway therefore centres on
small- scale renewables: rooftop PV, wind projects with a handful of turbines,
and small hydropower plants. In turn, this means that much of the expansion
will be in the hands of private citizens, small and medium- sized businesses, and
municipalities. Federal and cantonal authorities can support this development,
in part through legislation that favours renewables and policies of the utilities
they (jointly) own.
The two main risks to the domestic renewables pathway are the intermittency of solar PV and wind power in Switzerland – which does not have a lot of