With electricity from the waste heat of incineration plants, Switzerland could reduce its electricity shortfall by up to 50 percent. This is the conclusion reached by the Swiss public utilities in a new study available to SRF. On Wednesday, the National Council will debate start-up funding.
Nor is it a bold vision. The waste heat from waste incineration plants or wood-fired power plants should one day make a substantial contribution to Switzerland’s security of supply with electricity in winter. The sticking point: the combined heat and power plants required for this do not yet exist, and their construction is currently hardly worthwhile for investors.
The potential corresponds to almost half of the electricity imported today in the cold season.
Swisspower, a joint venture of Swiss municipal utilities, is therefore demanding start-up financing from the federal government. In a new study, Allianz calculates that, ideally, 500,000 households could be supplied with electricity. That would be a significant relief, especially in the winter months, says study author Thomas Peyer: “The potential corresponds to almost half of the electricity imported today in the cold season.”
Replacement for reserve power plants?
According to Peyer, it will take at least three years for combined heat and power plants to be ready for use. In a first step, Swisspower wants to target 15 locations. These can cover around a third of the capacity of the existing thermal reserve power plants in Birr AG, Cornaux NE and Monthey VS.
Swisspower puts the costs for the start-up financing of combined heat and power plants at around one billion Swiss francs.
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In the long term, biogas could be used as a fuel to make waste heat usable for electricity production without using fossil energy.
SRF
Allianz is now lobbying vigorously for support in Bern. On Wednesday, the National Council will decide whether the federal government should fund such projects in the future. The majority of the Commission for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy UREK spoke out in favor of this in advance.
Plants not emission-free
However, combined heat and power plants would not bring immediate decarbonization. Because these would initially be fired like the existing thermal emergency power plants with gas or diesel.
We still have untapped potential for biogas in Switzerland.
In the longer term, however, this can also be solved, says Patrik Feusi, Managing Director of the Limmattal Regiowerk Limeco: “We still have untapped potential for biogas in Switzerland.” In the long term, this could be used as a fuel to make waste heat usable for electricity production without using fossil energy.
Feusi is also hoping for so-called “power-to-gas” systems that could also produce renewable gas. Such an installation is already in place at the Limmattaler Regiowerk in Dietikon/ZH. However, such systems are not yet suitable for large-scale use.
Climate strike movement is critical
Despite the prospect of a reduction in electricity imports in winter, combined heat and power plants do not mean that Switzerland will get away from fossil fuels in the short term.
Accordingly, the demand for subsidies is controversial. The climate strike movement has already promised a referendum.
You can see more on the subject tonight at 9:50 p.m. on the show “10 vor 10” on SRF1.