Bern – Many energy suppliers already sell between 80 and 100 percent electricity from renewable sources. Renewables are also playing an increasingly important role in the generation of heat. Only in the case of gas do fossil fuels continue to dominate. This is shown in a report by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.
Swiss energy suppliers are increasingly relying on energy from renewable sources. This is the result of the new comparative study “Benchmarking 2021/22” by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy(SFOE). According to a statement from the SFOE, the share of electricity from renewable sources is already between 80 and 100 percent at 75 of the 110 electricity suppliers participating in the study.
The study also attests to the progress made by utilities in the generation of heat. For example, the expansion of district heating from renewable sources is booming, explains the SFOE. In contrast, the federal government’s energy experts see a lot of catching up to do in gas. Among the 51 gas suppliers participating in the study, 39 offer a standard product with a maximum of 20 percent gas from renewable sources.
In general, the comparative study shows a high potential for improvement. On average, the participating electricity suppliers meet 51 percent of the targets in the eight fields of action examined, and the heat suppliers 65 percent. Despite the low level of target achievement, however, the energy suppliers demonstrated “innovative approaches in practically all fields of action,” writes the SFOE.
Elektrizitätswerk der Stadt Zürich(ewz) came out on top in both the electricity & heat and heat cross-connection categories. This makes the company “the best-placed energy service provider in Switzerland,” ewz said in its own statement. “We have been proving for decades that focusing on renewable energies, whether for electricity or heating and cooling production, not only makes sense but can also be operated economically,” ewz Director Benedikt Loepfe is quoted as saying there. hs
