Swiss electricity getting cleaner, says energy report

subscribe

BERN -

The electricity consumed in Switzerland is ever greener, according to government statistics: some 62% comes from renewable sources, while nuclear has fallen to 17%.

The figures (in French/German)external link were released on Monday by the Federal Office of Energy, which gathers each year the sources used by electricity providers in Switzerland. The latest report refers to 2016.

As expected, hydropower is the biggest source of juice, at 56%. This marks an increase of 2.5 percentage points on the previous year. Other renewables – solar, wind, biomass and small-scale hydropower – made up 5.9%, a one-point increase on 2015.

#google#

Taken together, this means that just over three-fifths of electricity provided in the country in 2016 came from renewable sources, a figure helped by the slight decline in the use of nuclear, which fell from 20.7% to 17%.

Another 20% comes from unverified sources, which the energy office explains as energy used by high-consuming businesses which is often bought on the European market and not traced within Switzerland. Much of it may be fossil fuel burning.

Overall the figures tie in closely with the government’s Energy Strategy 2050external link, a sweeping plan endorsed by voters last year that aims to completely phase out nuclear by the mid-point of the century, as well as promote renewable sources and reduce consumption.

The electricity consumption figures should not be confused with those for overall energy produced, which (for reasons of import and export) are different: overall, 59% of the production total is hydropower, 33% remains nuclear, 5% other renewable, and 3% fossil fuels.


 

Related News

Clean energy stored

Clean energy stored in electric vehicles to power buildings

COVENTRY - Stored energy from electric vehicles (EVs) can be used to power large buildings -- creating new possibilities for the future of smart, renewable energy -- thanks to ground-breaking battery research from WMG at the University of Warwick.

Dr Kotub Uddin, with colleagues from WMG's Energy and Electrical Systems group and Jaguar Land Rover, has demonstrated that vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology can be intelligently utilised to take enough energy from idle EV batteries to be pumped into the grid and power buildings -- without damaging the batteries.

This new research into the potentials of V2G shows that it could actually improve vehicle…

READ MORE
NB Power head office

Seasonal power rates could cause consumer backlash

READ MORE

california power plants

California regulators weigh whether the state needs more power plants

READ MORE

The Kemper County power plant

Mississippi power plant costs cross $7.5B

READ MORE

Cobalt Supply

How Hedge Funds May Be Undermining the Electric Car Boom

READ MORE