The incoming president of the Swiss Water Management Association (SWMA) is in favour of full liberalisation of the Swiss electricity market. She also maintains that an electricity mix without nuclear power is no longer possible.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ac
Español
es
La energía nuclear es necesaria, afirma el director de la Agencia Suiza del Agua
“My ideal would be a good electricity mix without nuclear power, but I don’t really believe in that any more,” said Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher in an interview published on Sunday by the NZZ am Sonntag. The parliamentarian is therefore not closing the door on new nuclear power stations, but only wants “new generation” ones.
However, she continues to believe in the development of hydroelectric power. “The first step is to increase the height of existing dams. To do this, we need to reach an agreement with the environmental organisations so that we don’t hold each other back”.
More
More
How Switzerland is dismantling its first nuclear power station
This content was published on
Switzerland is set to switch off its first nuclear power station. But pressing the “off” button is just the start of an estimated 15-year process.
The parliamentarian, who has been proposed as president of the SWMA following Albert Rösti’s departure to the Federal Council, believes that small nature conservation associations should not have the same weight in appeals as organisations with broad support. Otherwise, a “mini-association” can “throw a spanner in the works”, whereas a solution has been found with the large associations.
Vincenz-Stauffacher also advocates not systematically protecting areas upstream of glaciers, where new hydraulic dams could be built. “Not all areas lend themselves to this in the same way, but there are several where new structures would make sense”.
She also recommends reducing the residual flows of rivers for a limited period of time, if this measure proves necessary for the security of Switzerland’s electricity supply.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
November 24, 2024 votes: the results from across Switzerland
Swiss government adopts three-pronged approach to end violence against women
This content was published on
Over the next few years, the federal government intends to take action against gender-based violence in three main areas.
Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
This content was published on
Voters in canton Uri in central Switzerland have rejected a Green Party initiative aimed at regulating the development of the lakeside site in Isleten.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.