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A DN 200, PFA 40 pressure pipeline for a drinking water power station
Generating electricity by water power – An important
contribution to the phasing out of atomic energy
by Andreas Schütz
1 Introduction
Thanks to the topographical conditions in Switzerland,
there is still a vast potential for the
environmentally-friendly generation of electricity
by hydroelectric power, especially in the
mountainous regions. What is more, this form of
electricity generation has for many years now,
been actively encouraged by the federal government
by the provision of financial support.
The decision in May 2011 by the Swiss Federal
Council to completely phase out atomic energy
by 2034 is now creating an entirely new situation.
In releases to the media, the federal
govern ment has stated that it is planning to
make the development of water power its first
priority. Other important elements of its future
energy policy are the saving of electricity,
improved efficiency and above all efforts relating
to renewable energy sources.
2 The promotion of water power
A revision of the Swiss Energy Law is expected
as a result of the Federal Council’s decision.
Even before this decision, the Energy Law laid
down an increase of at least 5,400 GWh in the
generation of electricity from renewable energy
sources by 2030. There is now expected to be a
substantial upward adjustment of this figure.
The existing Energy Law already includes a raft
of measures for promoting renewable energies
and for increasing efficiency in the electricity
sector. The main measure in this case has
been the cost-covering remuneration for feedin
to the grid (CRF) for electricity from renewable
energy sources. Around 247 million Swiss
francs per annum has been made available to
offset the difference between the remuneration
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and the market price. To date, the cost-covering
remuneration is provided for the following
energy sources:
■ water (i.e. hydroelectric) power
■ photovoltaic energy
■ wind power
■ geothermal energy
■ biomass and waste from biomass.
Depending on the energy source, the remuneration
is payable for 20 to 25 years.
3 Green electricity from drinking water
power stations
A principal aim of the federal government’s new
energy strategy is to increase energy efficiency.
In this respect, electricity generated by drinking
water power stations is particularly energy
efficiency because, as well as serving their main
purpose of supplying drinking water, the drinking
water pipelines also generate environmentally-friendly
electricity. The advantages to the
operator are obvious. The electricity generated
by drinking water power stations is produced
locally, and the environment and the water cycle
remain virtually unaffected. What is more, an
important contribution can be made to achieving
the government’s aims at a relatively low
cost (Fig. 1).
The production of electricity does not impair
the quality of the drinking water. Also, in the
assessment of the VUE (Swiss Association for
Environ mentally Sound Energy), the environmental
pollution caused by drinking water
power stations can hardly be measured. The
energy produced therefore ranks as green electricity
and can be sold as such.
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