webinar
The future of hydropower in Switzerland
September 23, 2021 from 12.30 to 14.00
Swiss Energy Law Association (SELA)
The Swiss Energy Law Association (SELA), will be hosting a webinar with Mr. Daniel Fischlin, CEO of the KWO, the Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG, dedicated to the future of hydropower in Switzerland on September 23, 2021 from 12.30 to 14.00.
The webinar will address the role of hydropower in providing energy security and supply and its challenges, given the lack of electricity agreement between Switzerland and the European Union, following the break-down of the talks on the framework agreement.
It will also address the current paradox conflict between enhanced sustainable production and environmental concerns of biodiversity in the alpine region.
The webinar will offer a unique opportunity to better understand, identity and focus on legal and policy issues which urgently need to be addressed, both domestically and in relations to the European Union.
If you are interested to attend the webinar, please send an email to SELA or to Prof. em. Dr. Thomas Cottier.
The presentation by Daniel Fischlin, CEO of the Grimsel power plant, producing some 20% of Swiss electricity, offered a fascinating oversight of challenges faced by the alpine hydropower industry in the context of the energy transition, the green deal and conflicting environmental and economic interests. His slides offer a detailed account and are worthwhile studying.
With the turn to renewable energy and decline of nuclear power, storage facilities for water and pump stations develop into true batteries for winter time, also storing surplus energy produced in summer. In order to assume these functions, the capacities of storage needs to be increased.
We conclude from the presentation and discussion held on line that these alpine batteries are of utmost importance for Europe as a whole, and not limited to Switzerland. Funding mechanisms need to be found to pay for these most valuable functions, next to pricing of electricity and transmission. Moreover, it is necessary to enter into appropriate international agreements stabilizing the flow of electricity and avoiding that stored capacity needs to be used for European grid stability intervention, rather than winter supplies when RE is scarcely produced in the country other than by hydropower.
Thomas Cottier, Chair SELA