National Council wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies
Published: Thursday, Dec 21st 2023, 12:50
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 21st 2023, 12:50
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The planning and approval procedures for hydroelectric, solar and wind power plants are to be streamlined so that the energy transition can gain momentum. The National Council was the first chamber to approve the so-called acceleration decree. It said no to new nuclear power plants.
Because the demand for electricity will continue to increase in the coming years and import options are limited, the Federal Council and Parliament want to step up the construction of domestic power plants. The aim is to expand renewable energies in order to increase security of supply, particularly in winter.
With the acceleration decree, the Federal Council wants to amend the Energy Act to streamline the procedures for the planning and construction of large power plants for renewable energies. The siting canton alone is to approve the construction of plants as well as extensions and renovations and also issue the permits that are currently issued by the municipality. The municipalities should be involved in the process at an early stage.
Commission spokesperson Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher (FDP/SG) emphasized what many other parliamentary group spokespersons followed her in saying: "More electricity is needed in a short space of time to prevent bottlenecks." To achieve this, the duration of the process must be reduced. Today, it sometimes takes twenty years or more for an energy project to be realized.
Resistance from the SVP
The National Council clearly backed the bill on Thursday and ultimately adopted it by 137 votes to 56 with 3 abstentions. The large chamber followed the lead of its Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek-N) on all key points.
There was only fundamental criticism from the SVP. It had previously failed with several motions. The largest parliamentary group wanted the Federal Council to revise the bill and focus on other energy generation technologies. The SVP also wanted to exclude wind power projects from the acceleration of the procedure.
SVP spokesperson Christian Imark (SO) pleaded for the focus to be placed on the winter gap. The acceleration decree is technologically one-sided, he said. Hydropower and nuclear energy are needed for a secure, affordable and environmentally friendly energy supply.
No new nuclear power plants
To this end, the SVP also supported a motion by the FDP parliamentary group that sought to relax the ban on new nuclear power plant construction. According to Matthias Samuel Jauslin (FDP/AG), this would have lifted the technology ban - without a free pass for future nuclear power plants.
The National Council said no to this by 101 votes to 90 with 5 abstentions, thereby supporting its decision from the spring. The upper chamber had already rejected such a proposal at that time as part of the energy cloak decree, but much more clearly.
The majority found that softening the absolute moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants would acutely jeopardize the acceleration decree. The SP, Center Party, Greens and GLP voted unanimously against.
Energy Minister Albert Rösti warned against entering the nuclear energy debate now. The topic will probably come up again soon - as part of the popular initiative "Electricity for all at all times (stop the blackout)". First, however, the energy transition must be achieved through the expansion of renewable energy sources.
Warning before the template crashes
Another controversial issue in the National Council was the extent to which the rights of local communities to object to planned plants and those of environmental and nature conservation associations should be curtailed. The large chamber refrained from making any drastic changes in order to achieve a majority.
It decided to expressly stipulate in the law that the cantons can make the consent of the siting municipalities a prerequisite for the approval of an installation under the fast-track procedure. Further-reaching co-determination rights for siting municipalities were rejected.
In addition, the right of appeal for associations should not be restricted. The left wing of the Council warned of a referendum in the event of a restriction. Energy Minister Rösti even said that the bill would be "clinically dead" if the right of appeal for associations were to be restricted.
Faster progress for hydropower too
The National Council decided to make other changes to the Federal Council's proposal. For example, the decision to apply the ordinary approval procedure should lie with the project developers of solar and wind energy plants and not with the approval authority.
The National Council wants to speed up the approval process not only for wind and solar power plants, but also for hydropower plants. The cantons are free to determine which cantonal or communal authority is responsible for this procedure.
The bill now goes to the Council of States.
©Keystone/SDA
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