Expansion of Renewable Energy Can Overload the Power Grid
Published: Saturday, Aug 12th 2023, 07:40
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
Back to Live Feed
The Swiss government's solar offensive to reach climate goals could put the wires to the test. The electricity grid needs to be expanded to transport the newly generated power. Swissgrid, the national network operator, is responsible for the high-voltage grid. Two thirds of the 6700 km long transmission network is over 40 years old. Swissgrid is implementing its 2025 network strategy and is working on a strategy for 2040. The strategy includes 10 projects, some of which are in different construction and project phases. Others are completed, such as the continuous expansion of two 380-kilovolt lines between Pradella and La Punt GR. Swissgrid is investing between 200 and 290 million francs annually in these projects. Recently, structural bottlenecks have become apparent in the Valais, where six solar projects have been announced. Two of them, in the Vispertal and Grengiols, had to be downsized due to insufficient network connection. In Graubünden, another mountain canton with at least 10 solar projects, the expansion of the transmission network is more advanced. In the West of Switzerland, the existing network only has one 380-kilovolt connection. For Swissgrid, the completion of the projects of the 2025 strategy is of high urgency. However, a missing high-voltage line is not necessarily an obstacle for new power plants. In addition to the connection, the upstream network including transformers and transmission lines may also have to be expanded. Swissgrid therefore needs to be involved in the planning process. The time factor could be more decisive for photovoltaic large-scale projects than network connection or natural hazards. To take advantage of the federal investment contributions of up to 60%, solar plants must reach at least 10% of the planned total capacity or feed at least 10 gigawatt hours into the grid, at least 45% of which in the winter half-year. The Swiss parliament has eased and accelerated the approval process to promote the construction of large-scale solar plants in the mountains. However, experts consider the timetable to be ambitious. The federal government expects up to 200 projects to be completed by the end of 2025. Alpine solar plants would produce up to five times as much electricity in winter as those in low-lying areas, as the sun shines more often, more strongly and is reflected by the snow.nnnnnnnn
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic