– The National limits the scope of the solar offensive
The Council of States had passed a new law in record time. The National went less far on Monday. The obligation to produce solar energy will be limited to large buildings.
The obligation to produce solar energy will be limited to large buildings. And the protection of nature will have to be better taken into account when realizing alpine solar parks. The National on Monday made some changes to the solar offensive, added by senators to the indirect counter-project to the glacier initiative.
The obligation to produce solar energy for all new buildings, wanted by the Council of States, was fiercely debated. The left and some elected bourgeois pleaded for this option. Solar has enormous potential, underlined Bastien Girod (Les Verts / ZH). But it is underused.
At the other end of the chessboard, the UDC tried to strike out the obligation, then to transform it into a simple incentive. “An obligation is an attack on the guarantee of property and economic freedom”, criticized Thomas Aeschi (UDC / ZG). “The costs would also be massive for the owners,” added Michael Graber (UDC / VS).
Only large buildings
Opting for a middle way, the deputies followed their committee. New constructions with an area greater than 300 m2 must have photovoltaic panels or a solar thermal installation. The cantons will be able to be more strict.
The left once more tried to lower the limit to buildings spanning 100m2. “With a limit of 300 m2, the obligation would fall for more than half of the buildings”, noted Kurt Egger (The Greens / TG). Only megavillas or family homes, bringing together several apartments, would still be affected. The UDC has tried to demand that at least 45% of production be carried out in winter. Both proposals were defeated.
The Confederation will have to lead by example. To the chagrin of part of the right, all its suitable surfaces will have to be equipped to produce solar energy by 2030.
High-altitude solar parks facilitated
Large Alpine solar parks, producing at least 10 GWh, including at least 500 kWh for 1 kWh of installed power in winter, will be able to obtain federal aid. Such facilities, considered to be of national interest, can also be set up more easily. Environmental requirements have been lowered.
However, parks cannot be set up in marshes, national biotopes and waterfowl and migratory bird reserves. They will have to be dismantled at the end of their use, and the landscape restored. The National adjusted the Senate version to conform to the Constitution.
The left, joined by a few bourgeois deputies, tried to further reduce the impact on the environment by demanding that solar parks be built close to existing infrastructures. They would also have liked their interests not to take precedence over other national, regional and local interests.
For some elected SVPs, the single remuneration should amount to a maximum of 30% of the investment costs – and not 60% as desired by the commission – and the total amount should not exceed 2 billion francs. None of these proposals made it through.
Raising the Grimsel dam
The National has once more decided to give priority to raising the Grimsel dam (BE). The installation is currently being renovated, recalled Roger Nordmann (PS / VD) for the commission. The procedure for the enlargement drags on, meanwhile. Dismantling the scaffolding to reassemble it a few years later would not make sense.
In the end, the deputies adopted, by 149 votes once morest 17 and 26 abstentions, the new wagon in favor of solar energy. A part of the right opposed it. No consultation or cost assessment was carried out, underlined Thomas Aeschi in vain. The measures, which should be declared urgent, will be limited until December 31, 2025.
Heaters to be replaced
MEPs have already eliminated differences over the rest of the counter-proposal to the glacier initiative. Carbon neutrality must be achieved by 2050. Intermediate objectives and indicative values for the various sectors are also set. Special support will be granted to mountain and peripheral regions.
Incentive programs are planned to achieve these goals. Two billion francs have been released for the replacement of polluting heating systems and the energy sanitation of buildings. And the encouragement of innovation in companies will be promoted thanks to an envelope of 1.2 billion.
The initiators have already made it known on several occasions that they were ready to withdraw their text – deemed too extreme by parliament – if a robust alternative was offered to them. The UDC has meanwhile announced that it wants to launch a referendum once morest the counter-project. The people might therefore still have to decide.
ATS
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