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Same for Switzerland. And even better: We're privileged to have the Alps in the middle of our country making hydroelectricity a very viable and renewable option

by pilif 7y ago

Same for Switzerland. And even better: We're privileged to have the Alps in the middle of our country making hydroelectricity a very viable and renewable option.

lnsru 7y ago
Is Switzerland ready to destroy the nature for cheap hydroelectricity?
- rdevsrex 7y ago
  I’m not sure about all hydropower in Switzerland but Grand Dixence is very high up. I’ve been there myself and the nature doesn’t seem to be disturbed. I don’t think there are any salmon swimming up from the Pacific like in a lot of rivers in the US. What exactly are your concerns about wildlife being disturbed?
  - lnsru 7y ago
    Where did I mention wildlife?? One just needs to flood lots of area to build hydropower plants. Please look at this picture: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Norway#/media/File%3AAlta-damm.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Norway...
throwaway9d0291 7y ago
I recently went on a trip to a power station and came away with the understanding that as far as electricity goes, Switzerland is somewhat screwed. Switzerland has 5 nuclear plants operating right now, which produce 34% of its electricity (with hydro accounting for another 60%) [0] however these plants are approaching the ends of their lives and a referendum in 2017 banned new plants [1], so we need to find an alternative way to replace them. Expanding hydro isn't an easy option because there's nowhere to build new dams (and the populace is generally against it) and the glaciers that provide the water are shrinking due to climate change. This will produce a burst of extra capacity but following that hydro won't be a viable option. There are plans to turn a few existing resevoirs into pumped storage facilities [2] but this isn't a great deal of capacity. Wind can be a part of the overall solution but it's not enough. The Swiss government (optimistically) plans to have ~300GWh/month by 2050 [3] but that's only ~5% of Switzerland's current consumption. Solar is another potential part of the solution but current capacity is minimal and adoption hasn't been going well [4]. The Swiss government has a 2050 energy plan [5] but it doesn't seem realistic to me. For one, they expect a 43% decrease in overall energy consumption _and_ a 13% decrease in electricity consumption. Assuming most of the non-electric consumption is from cars and it's reduced in favor of EVs, I just don't see how electricity consumption can be less than it is today. In the end, I think Switzerland is going to be heavily dependent on importing energy from elsewhere in Europe unless it removes the nuclear ban in the immediate future. It doesn't look likely that it's going to be able to replace the lost capacity with renewables quickly enough. [0]: https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/wirtschaft/energie/energie---fakten-und-zahlen.html https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/wirtschaft... [1]: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vote-opener/43190762 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vote-opener/43190762 [2]: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/hydropower_swiss-alps-proposed-as-powerhouse-of-europe/32762310 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/hydropower_swiss-alps-proposed-... [3]: https://www.uvek-gis.admin.ch/BFE/storymaps/EE_WEA/index.php?lang=en https://www.uvek-gis.admin.ch/BFE/storymaps/EE_WEA/index.php... [4]: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/07/12/switzerland-close-to-hitting-2-gw-solar-mark/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/07/12/switzerland-close-to-... [5]: https://www.bfe.admin.ch/bfe/en/home/policy/energy-strategy-2050.html https://www.bfe.admin.ch/bfe/en/home/policy/energy-strategy-...

by pilif 7y ago

Same for Switzerland. And even better: We're privileged to have the Alps in the middle of our country making hydroelectricity a very viable and renewable option.

lnsru 7y ago

Is Switzerland ready to destroy the nature for cheap hydroelectricity?

rdevsrex 7y ago
I’m not sure about all hydropower in Switzerland but Grand Dixence is very high up. I’ve been there myself and the nature doesn’t seem to be disturbed. I don’t think there are any salmon swimming up from the Pacific like in a lot of rivers in the US. What exactly are your concerns about wildlife being disturbed?
- lnsru 7y ago
  Where did I mention wildlife?? One just needs to flood lots of area to build hydropower plants. Please look at this picture: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Norway#/media/File%3AAlta-damm.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Norway...

throwaway9d0291 7y ago

I recently went on a trip to a power station and came away with the understanding that as far as electricity goes, Switzerland is somewhat screwed. Switzerland has 5 nuclear plants operating right now, which produce 34% of its electricity (with hydro accounting for another 60%) [0] however these plants are approaching the ends of their lives and a referendum in 2017 banned new plants [1], so we need to find an alternative way to replace them. Expanding hydro isn't an easy option because there's nowhere to build new dams (and the populace is generally against it) and the glaciers that provide the water are shrinking due to climate change. This will produce a burst of extra capacity but following that hydro won't be a viable option. There are plans to turn a few existing resevoirs into pumped storage facilities [2] but this isn't a great deal of capacity. Wind can be a part of the overall solution but it's not enough. The Swiss government (optimistically) plans to have ~300GWh/month by 2050 [3] but that's only ~5% of Switzerland's current consumption. Solar is another potential part of the solution but current capacity is minimal and adoption hasn't been going well [4]. The Swiss government has a 2050 energy plan [5] but it doesn't seem realistic to me. For one, they expect a 43% decrease in overall energy consumption _and_ a 13% decrease in electricity consumption. Assuming most of the non-electric consumption is from cars and it's reduced in favor of EVs, I just don't see how electricity consumption can be less than it is today. In the end, I think Switzerland is going to be heavily dependent on importing energy from elsewhere in Europe unless it removes the nuclear ban in the immediate future. It doesn't look likely that it's going to be able to replace the lost capacity with renewables quickly enough. [0]: https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/wirtschaft/energie/energie---fakten-und-zahlen.html https://www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/wirtschaft... [1]: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vote-opener/43190762 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vote-opener/43190762 [2]: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/hydropower_swiss-alps-proposed-as-powerhouse-of-europe/32762310 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/hydropower_swiss-alps-proposed-... [3]: https://www.uvek-gis.admin.ch/BFE/storymaps/EE_WEA/index.php?lang=en https://www.uvek-gis.admin.ch/BFE/storymaps/EE_WEA/index.php... [4]: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/07/12/switzerland-close-to-hitting-2-gw-solar-mark/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/07/12/switzerland-close-to-... [5]: https://www.bfe.admin.ch/bfe/en/home/policy/energy-strategy-2050.html https://www.bfe.admin.ch/bfe/en/home/policy/energy-strategy-...