Renewable energy must be promoted, even at the expense of the environment

Renewable energies must be strongly developed. And this even to the detriment of the protection of the environment if necessary. The Energy Commission of the Council of States has extensively reviewed the government project.

It is essential to act quickly on the development of renewable energies, the commission said in a press release on Friday. It is even necessary to go further than the initial project.

The Federal Council’s objectives do not sufficiently take into account the additional electricity needs linked to decarbonization and the potential of renewable energies, she judges. They have been revised upwards.

The annual production of electricity from renewable energies – without hydraulics – must reach at least 35 TWh in 2035, and 45 TWh in 2050. The government had set the bar at 17 TWh and 39 TWh. For hydraulic energy, annual production must reach at least 37.9 TWh by the first deadline and 39.2 TWh by the second, slightly more than the Federal Council forecast.

Plants in national biotopes

The framework conditions must be adapted accordingly, notes the commission. The idea is to prioritize renewable energy over other interests, including environmental ones.

New installations intended for the production of renewable energies might thus be built in biotopes of national importance. The existing ban must be lifted. The national interest in carrying out these projects must also take precedence over cantonal, regional or local interests.

Certain provisions of the law on the protection of water must also be suspended until 2035 to continue the operation of hydroelectric power stations, whose power is greater than 3 MW. Minorities oppose these relaxations. One of them proposes instead to use the free surfaces following the melting of the glaciers to produce energy.

Solar installations with a power of at least 1 MW should also be more easily constructed outside building zones and on agricultural land. The authorization of biomass installations and wind turbines in the forest must also be facilitated.

floating market premium

Measures are also necessary to ensure winter electricity supply, points out the commission. If Switzerland imports more than 5 TWh for two consecutive winter semesters, the interest in building renewable energy production facilities must take precedence over all other national interests. The Confederation will support the projects with a floating market premium.

A minority opposes it. It would be wiser, in his view, to create the necessary conditions to implement the 15 dam development projects designated as priorities by a round table devoted to hydraulics.

The commission still wishes to introduce a contribution of 60% to the costs for installations with heat-force coupling. However, these installations must be limited to the winter semester and be made with at least 40% renewable fuels. A minority rejects the measure.

Reduction of consumption

A target of reducing annual electricity consumption by 2 TWh has also been introduced for 2035. program.

Suppliers should also be able to offer incentives for electricity savings through special tariffs. Several minorities, going more or less far, have been tabled.

While the commission welcomes investment contributions for new hydroelectric, wind and geothermal installations, it wishes to diversify the financial support mechanisms. It therefore proposes that the electricity injected into the network be remunerated by a floating market premium.

These promotion measures are financed by means of the surcharge collected on the network. They are therefore borne by all electricity consumers. For the commission, the fund fed by the supplement will have to be able to borrow in order to compensate for short-term variations in financial flows.

No full market opening

The complete opening of the electricity market, proposed by the Federal Council, does not however pass the ramp. Such a measure is neither likely to bring together a majority, nor judicious in the current context, judges the commission which also proposes to renounce a liberalization of the market. The operators of a distribution network must retain their monopoly in this area.

On the other hand, local electrical communities must be able to see the light of day. They allowed end consumers, producers of electricity from renewable energies and storage operators to group together and freely manage the supply of electricity within them, by using the distribution network.

In the vote on the whole, the project was adopted by 9 votes once morest 2. The Council of States will consider it at the next session.

/ATS