"The major challenge for the future will be to make up for the shortfall in domestic winter production."

Each month, we question different sectors and professions on specific topics. For this month of October, the floor is given to energy suppliers regarding Switzerland's energy policy.

Responses from Stéphane Maret, Director General of FMV.

Parliament and the Federal Council are focusing on increasing renewable energy in Switzerland, but shouldn't we rather encourage grid modernization as well as improved energy storage?

We need to do both. Grid modernization and energy storage are equally crucial to support the growth of renewable energies. The amendment of the Energy Act and the Electricity Supply Act (Mantelerlass), adopted last June 9 by the Swiss people, contains provisions that encourage grid modernization as well as electricity storage.

These measures concern, for example, public participation in local electric communities with possibilities for bidirectional charging or the strengthening of the electrical system through the integration of decentralized storage units. These provisions contained in the Mantelerlass package of measures exist and are being implemented, but they are simply less known to the general public or less publicized.

Isn't it shocking that the Confederation is considering curbing solar production because the grid is not sufficiently adapted to absorb all that energy?

Support measures for the grid are necessary and transitional. If you are referring to the framework conditions for an intelligent expansion of the electrical grid that include limiting injection into the grid by photovoltaic installations, it should be emphasized that this measure takes into account the reality of the laws of physics specific to electricity, which require a permanent balance between the amounts of production injected into the networks and the withdrawals by consumers, households and businesses.

If this balance is broken, the risk of a blackout arises with the imaginable cascading consequences. Network security and stability must remain a priority. Switzerland and Europe have experienced an encouraging but exponential development of weather-dependent renewable productions, including photovoltaic production. Implementing a solar panel project on existing buildings is relatively straightforward. In contrast, strengthening an electrical grid proves to be much more demanding in terms of administrative procedures and technical analyses, particularly in the area of cascading effects on the different network levels located upstream or downstream (THT, HT, MT, BT). It is therefore essential that development efforts be coordinated.

Carrying out a solar panel project on existing buildings is relatively straightforward. In contrast, strengthening an electrical grid proves to be much more demanding.

The economic reality of electricity says no different than the physical reality: the exponential development of photovoltaics not only in Switzerland but throughout Europe is causing production surpluses at certain times of the day and year, resulting in negative prices on the markets.

In this context of major changes, a period of transitional adjustments is unavoidable. And awareness and decision-making have taken place among supra-regional distributors to name but a few: in Valais alone, investments on the order of 300 million francs over ten years are planned on the 65 kV high-voltage network of the company Valgrid, which is doing everything possible to meet Switzerland's energy challenges.

As a producer and distributor, what are your expectations of the public authorities to get out of this impasse?

This is not an impasse. As explained, we are in a phase of enormous changes. But while the problems caused are disruptive, they are temporary. That said, FMV is active in hydroelectric production and alpine photovoltaic projects (PVA). Our primary mission is to contribute to increasing winter production through projects to expand hydraulic power and PVAs, in accordance with the objectives of the energy strategy.

By contrast, we do not have the mission of developing photovoltaics among captive end customers; that is the role of local/regional distributors who have a direct relationship with end customers who today are becoming "prosumers." In these conditions, we are not best placed to answer your question and cannot formulate particular expectations.

In your experience, are the objectives set by politicians regarding the energy transition still realistic and achievable or, on the contrary, still very hypothetical?

FMV is aligned with Switzerland's 2050 energy strategy. The objectives set are ambitious and achievable if all actors collaborate effectively. Political consensus has been established, the popular will was expressed on June 9, and avenues of appeal remain. The Mantelerlass provides for new provisions.

Time will tell whether they will be sufficient, for example regarding investments which will have to be significant and sustained over time or regarding the simplification of procedures. From our point of view, the major challenge of the coming decades consists of closing the looming deficit in domestic winter production, and our projects go in that direction. Today, the signals seem green for building permits for projects to be granted within reasonable timeframes, once oppositions are addressed.

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