immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: sonnenenergie

  • Where electricity will come from in 2050

    Where electricity will come from in 2050

    For Switzerland to become CO₂-neutral by 2050, transport, heat supply and industry must be largely electrified. Today’s electricity demand of 56 terawatt hours will increase to around 75 TWh by 2050. At the same time, 23 TWh will come from nuclear energy. The necessary reorganisation of the energy system is far-reaching in technical, economic and social terms.

    Massive expansion of renewable energy
    According to the EDGE report, around 60 % of electricity must be covered by new renewable energies by 2050, specifically 45 TWh per year. This would be possible with 28 TWh from photovoltaics, 13 TWh from wind power and 4 TWh from biomass. To achieve this, photovoltaic capacity would have to be quadrupled to 26.8 GW. Wind power would need to be expanded 80-fold to 8.4 GW, especially for winter operation. According to the researchers, this is hardly realisable without strong subsidies.

    Limiting electricity imports makes the system more expensive
    The new Electricity Act limits net electricity imports in winter to 5 TWh. In order to meet this target, an additional 80 % more wind power, 11 % more gas capacity and 10 % more solar capacity would be required. This would increase electricity generation costs by 20 % and electricity prices could more than double.

    Europe remains decisive
    If European electricity trading were to be severely restricted, e.g. through a 70 % reduction in cross-border grid capacities, Switzerland would have to expand wind power by a further 20 %. Supply costs would rise by an additional 8 %. A survey by the EDGE consortium shows the conflicting priorities. 60 % of the population would like to cooperate with Europe, while at the same time 70 % want energy independence and favour domestic energy sources.

    Investments flow abroad
    Another study shows that more than half of the annual investments made by Swiss energy suppliers in large-scale renewable energy projects are channelled mainly to Germany, France and Italy. Only 1 % of these funds are invested in Switzerland. There is a lack of suitable projects or framework conditions in Switzerland. This means that Switzerland is often financing the energy transition indirectly, but not at home.

    Net zero has its price
    The cost of living could rise between 2020 and 2050, for example due to CO₂ taxes, emissions trading or higher production costs. The annual consumption loss of a household could be 0.63-0.75 %, depending on the global climate protection pathway. Without offsetting options abroad, the costs could rise to up to 1%. In the long term, however, this would be more favourable than the consequences of unchecked climate change.

    The energy transition is feasible and challenging
    A CO₂-neutral electricity supply by 2050 is technically possible if photovoltaics and wind power are massively expanded, imports are used intelligently and investments are channelled in a targeted manner. Access to the European electricity market remains crucial. At the same time, we need broad social support and an understanding that inaction will be more expensive than a bold transformation.

  • Expansion of photovoltaics to increase by 58 percent in 2022

    Expansion of photovoltaics to increase by 58 percent in 2022

    Despite bottlenecks in skilled labor and blocked supply chains, 58 percent more photovoltaics were installed in 2022 compared to the previous year. Swissolar points to the figures now published by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy in a media release. According to the figures, solar modules with an output of 4.74 gigawatts were installed in Switzerland at the end of 2022. This covered almost 7 percent of Switzerland’s electricity demand over the course of the year. This production was equivalent to half of the Gösgen nuclear power plant.

    This amount of solar power must be increased sevenfold in the next twelve years, according to the association: “With the overcoat decree currently being discussed by parliament, it must be possible to create the necessary framework conditions for this.” That is quite realistic, also with the help of the solar express law for the accelerated building of alpine plants. On suitable roofs and facades alone, 70 terawatt hours could be generated annually. That would be twice what the National Council and Council of States have set as a target for renewable energies by 2035.

    Demand for battery storage has also more than doubled compared with the previous year. With the storage capacity of all the battery storage systems installed to date, 35,000 households could be supplied with electricity for a day, according to the data.

    For the current year, Swissolar expects a photovoltaic expansion of 20 to 30 percent. This is expected to pick up further momentum from October 1 with the new vocational apprenticeships of Solar Installer:in EFZ and Solar Assembler:in EBA. “Now,” says Swissolar Managing Director Matthias Egli, “we need a clear signal from politicians that solar energy offers long-term career prospects.”

  • Holistic solar solution for ALDI SUISSE

    Holistic solar solution for ALDI SUISSE

    The project is about sustainability and profitability: Photovoltaic systems with a total output of around 15,000 kWp were installed on around 70 store roofs. If you add up the systems, you get one of the largest solar energy projects in Switzerland. It will produce around 14 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which corresponds to the consumption of around 5,300 households. In this way, the retailer makes a valuable contribution to the sustainable energy supply in Switzerland – and at the same time can significantly reduce its operating costs.

    The electricity from the systems is used by the shops themselves, which – like all retailers – consume a relatively large amount of energy because of the many refrigerated shelves, the oven, the heating and the lighting. In addition, where available, the solar power is used in the e-charging stations next to the branches and, if there is excess, fed into the grid.

    Time pressure as a challenge and opportunity
    At the end of 2019, ewz Energy Solutions was awarded the contract to build the systems. In close cooperation, ewz developed a pilot system with its subsidiary SunTechnics Fabrisolar and another partner. This procedure made it possible to use the know-how of all those involved and to clarify technical questions in advance. ALDI SUISSE’s extensive requirements for the construction process, safety requirements and functionality were also taken into account. ewz prepared the rollout during the pilot phase and continuously incorporated the findings from the construction of the first systems. The time pressure thus proved not only to be a major challenge, but also an opportunity. Because of the almost simultaneous construction of the 70 or so plants, many synergies could be used, which enabled efficient implementation.

    Elaborate static test
    Before the modules were installed, each roof had to be statically tested. This is particularly important for existing buildings, as the additional loads from modules, fastening systems and cast concrete blocks are high. For each store roof, the specialists used calculation software to create a ballast plan that specifies the number and positioning of the modules. The modules are usually set up in an east-west direction. A southern orientation would also be possible in principle due to the high direct solar radiation at midday, but over the course of the day the east-west orientation proves to be more profitable.

    Maximum solar yield
    “When planning, we didn’t look at the size of the house connection, but at the available roof area and the maximum number of modules we could place there,” says Roland Jucker, overall project manager at ewz. The goal of ewz was clearly to generate as much solar yield as possible. However, this fundamental decision presented the planners with a number of challenges. The biggest was to integrate the PV system into the existing power supply of the branches.

    The electricity produced by the PV system is primarily used directly in the ALDI branch to cover its own consumption. If the branch is using less electricity than the PV system is producing, the excess electricity is fed into the grid. The electrical house connection must therefore be matched to the maximum output of the PV system (e.g. sunny Sunday with maximum production and low self-consumption). However, because this situation occurs extremely rarely and only for a short time, strengthening the house connection would be disproportionately expensive.

    The solution is dynamic power control. It is constantly measured how much electricity the PV system is currently producing, what the consumers are drawing and how much electricity is being fed back into the grid. If the feedback current is above a certain limit, the control unit gives the command to the inverter to throttle the power. The house connection fuse cannot be overloaded and self-consumption is not restricted.

    Thanks to the large PV systems, the solution implemented for ALDI SUISSE enables a very high solar yield with an average self-consumption of around 60 percent.

    ALDI SUISSE has concluded a contracting agreement with ewz
    To put it simply: ALDI SUISSE provides the roofs and, as far as possible, obtains the solar power to cover the electricity consumption directly in the branch. The PV systems belong to ewz, which is also responsible for maintenance, billing and renewal. The “carefree package” also includes the overall coordination of the project, obtaining building permits, remote monitoring and the use of residual electricity.

    Roland Jucker, overall project manager at ewz says: “The idea of equipping as many roofs as possible with a standardized PV solution is visionary”. “In the end, around 45,000 modules were installed.” Jucker is particularly proud of the fact that the installation was able to take place during ongoing operations. “We had to be off the network for 30 minutes after closing time – that was the only interruption.”

    Christoph Deiss, Head of the Energy Solutions division at ewz, says: “I am not aware of a similar project in Switzerland. In this way, ALDI SUISSE is making a valuable contribution to climate protection together with us.» Christoph Deiss emphasizes the great experience: “We have been using photovoltaic technology for over 30 years – we have been a solar pioneer from the very beginning.” Thanks to its great know-how and many years of experience, ewz prevailed against around a dozen competitors in the tender. “ewz is a Swiss company with locations in Zurich, Graubünden and Vaud,” emphasizes Christoph Deiss. “Thanks to the regional operating teams, we guarantee the highest security of supply and short response times.”

    Further information at: ewz.ch/aldisuisse

  • Climate neutral by 2050

    Climate neutral by 2050

    Many homeowners cannot afford a renovation. Long-term loans are now intended to support builders who want to make their property climate-friendly but do not have sufficient financial resources or prefer to invest their money in their core business. At least that's what the state wants. Whether and how this can be done remains questionable. Because the financial institutions intended for this, such as banks and insurance companies, are hardly interested in loans with terms of more than 30 years. The federal government therefore wants to act as a security guarantor. A pilot project in Berne is now to examine whether this financing idea is realistic.

    The Zuger Energeek Group AG proposes another way. "With Energeek®, the solar panel with rental for you", she gets people to invest in solar energy, whether they own real estate or not. Energeek provides the solar panels and the real estate projects. Anyone who wants to invest can buy one or more panels online and then rent them out to a project company. Upon purchase, the buyer also benefits immediately from the one-time payment (EIV), the federal subsidy for solar systems. The panels acquired will be integrated into a larger panel network that generates electricity sustainably; the buyer of these panels thus becomes a producer of electricity through renewable energy with the right to rental income. A minimum rental price is guaranteed when the contract is signed. However, upward rent adjustments are possible at any time. For example, when the price of electricity rises with inflation. The purchased solar panels can also be resold, inherited or given away at any time together with the rental agreement and the associated rental income.

    Another big advantage: so that solar panels and the projects work very efficiently, solar trackers are used whenever possible and in addition to the permanently installed PV area. With these, the panels are not permanently installed, but rotate according to the sun. This means that, for example, the morning and evening sun is also optimally used. Or discover the smallest gap in the cloud on a cloudy day and use it to generate electricity. This achieves an increase in production of an additional + 63% kWh on average. This in comparison to permanently installed solar panels.

    Energeek Group AG presents the projects for which solar panels can be purchased on its website. The buyer can decide for himself which project the acquired panels should be rented to. For example, a project on a horse farm and hotel in the Freiberge is currently on offer. There, the group, together with its certified partners, will set up photovoltaic systems on a planned area of 1,590 square meters and thus supply the hotel building infrastructure, neighbors, heat pumps and e-charging station(s) with electricity. A panel in this project currently costs a little more than CHF 900, the annual rental income is CHF 82.50. A respectable return.
    More information at www.energeek.biz

  • Sonnenenergie ist um fast 50 Prozent gewachsen

    Sonnenenergie ist um fast 50 Prozent gewachsen

    Die Statistik Sonnenenergie 2020 des Schweizerischen Fachverbands für Sonnenenergie, Swissolar, belegt, dass der Photovoltaikzubau in der Schweiz gegenüber dem Vorjahr um 48 Prozent gestiegen ist. Damit ist ein Rekordwert von 493 Megawatt erreicht. Die Leistung von nahezu 3 Gigawatt deckte 4,7 Prozent des Strombedarfs im Land.

    Laut einer Medienmitteilung von Swissolar sind die Zuwächse bei Anlagen auf Industrie-, Gewerbe- und Dienstleistungsbauten sowie bei Photovoltaik (PV)-Anlagen über 100 Kilowatt besonders hoch. Die durchschnittliche Anlage war 24,5 Kilowatt gross. Im Vorjahr waren es noch 22,5 Kilowatt. Rund 15 Prozent der PV-Anlagen auf Einfamilienhäusern werden mit einem Batteriespeicher kombiniert. Deren Verkaufszahl wuchs gegenüber dem Vorjahr um 65 Prozent.

    Weltweit wurden im vergangenen Jahr 18 Prozent mehr Gigawatt PV-Leistung installiert als im Vorjahr. Die jährliche Stromproduktion entspricht etwa der von 115 Atomkraftwerken (AKW) von der Grösse Gösgens. Sie deckte 3,7 Prozent des weltweiten Strombedarfs. Gemäss Swissolar-Statistik ist alle 20 Tage die Produktionskapazität eines AKW hinzugekommen.

    Der Verkauf von Kollektoranlagen zur Nutzung der Solarwärme ist um rund 18 Prozent gesunken. Gründe seien unter anderem in der Dominanz von Wärmepumpen im Neubau und bei Heizungssanierungen zu suchen.

    Für die Dekarbonisierung des Energiesystems und für den Ersatz von Atomkraft bedarf es laut Swissolar eines massiven Ausbaus der Solarenergie auf rund 50 Gigawatt, mit einer jährlichen Stromproduktion von 45 Terawattstunden. Dazu müsste die Schweiz jährlich etwa 1500 Megawatt zubauen. Das entspreche dem Dreifachen des jetzigen jährlichen Zubaus.

    Doch gemäss der bundesrätlichen Botschaft vom 18. Juni zum Bundesgesetz über eine sichere Stromversorgung mit erneuerbaren Energien solle dieser Zubau von 2023 bis 2035 lediglich bei 700 Megawatt pro Jahr liegen. Ausserdem enthalte die Gesetzesvorlage Elemente, die den weiteren Ausbau der Solarenergie gefährden.

    „Das Parlament muss hier rasch korrigieren“, fordert Swissolar. Als Wegweiser könne der Beschluss des österreichischen Parlaments dienen, bis 2030 eine hundertprozentig erneuerbare Stromversorgung zu erreichen. Ausserdem sei „auf unverantwortliche und den Volkswillen missachtende Bestrebungen zur Verlängerung der AKW-Laufzeiten zu verzichten“. Nach dem knappen Nein zum CO2-Gesetz sei es nun an den Kantonen, den Ausstieg aus Öl und Gas in Gebäuden zu betreiben.

  • Swissolar calls for a faster pace of solar expansion

    Swissolar calls for a faster pace of solar expansion

    The expansion of solar systems in Switzerland in 2020 was around 30 to 39 percent higher than in the previous year and thus at a record level. That is at least the estimate of the Swissolar association based on the figures already available on the statistics for solar energy 2020, which will be published in July.

    In a communication on the occasion of the National Photovoltaic Conference in Bern, Swisssolar points out that the pace of the expansion must be further accelerated. The Federal Council's Energy Perspectives 2050+ anticipate annual solar power production of 34 terawatt hours by 2050. Swissolar would even aim for 45 terawatt hours. However, the annual expansion for both goals must be increased by a factor of three to four compared to the previous year, according to Swissolar.

    According to Swissolar, the framework conditions would also have to be optimized for a faster pace of expansion. According to the association's assessment, the expansion of photovoltaic systems in Switzerland will mainly take place on the roofs and facades of buildings. An evaluation by Swissolar shows that small and medium-sized systems of less than 150 square meters on the roofs of single and multi-family houses hold almost half of the “easily accessible” solar potential. The association therefore demands that investment security should be created for these systems as a priority. In the medium term, the winter production of electricity is likely to become increasingly important. According to the association, alpine solar systems in particular are likely to play an important role here.

  • Swiss photovoltaics will record record expansion in 2020

    Swiss photovoltaics will record record expansion in 2020

    Photovoltaics in Switzerland was expanded significantly in the past year 2020. According to a press release, according to the Swiss Association for Solar Energy, this was not enough to achieve the climate targets. The professional association Swissolar represents the interests of 740 association members with around 6000 jobs in the solar energy industry. In the announcement from Swissolar, the additional photovoltaic capacity installed in 2020 is estimated at an output of 430 to 460 megawatts. The final annual figures will not be available until the middle of the year.

    The new installations correspond to a growth of 30 to 39 percent compared to 2019. According to Swissolar, the number of registrations at the Pronovo certification and funding agency suggests that the growth not only occurred in small systems, but also in those with an output of over 100 kilowatts.

    From the point of view of the association, however, more needs to be done. "In order to replace the nuclear power that is no longer available and to cover the additional electricity demand for the electrification of traffic and heating, the annual expansion must be increased to around 1500 megawatts over the next few years – almost four times as much as last year," said Swissolar CEO David Stickelberger quoted. This is also provided for in the recently published Energy Perspectives 2050+ by the Federal Office of Energy.

    From the perspective of the solar industry, a number of political measures are required to achieve this. Greater support for systems without self-consumption is therefore necessary. This requires state incentives so that the roofs of stables, warehouses, parking lot canopies, noise barriers and other infrastructures are equipped with solar systems. Often this is not the case because the electricity cannot be consumed on the spot. Further measures are the obligation to generate electricity for new buildings, the removal of hurdles in the construction of open-space systems, which often only get a building permit with difficulty.

    From Swissolar's point of view, there is also a need for federal and cantonal funding for solar thermal systems. The contribution of solar heating to the energy transition is still underestimated.

  • Conflicting goals slow down the expansion of solar energy

    Conflicting goals slow down the expansion of solar energy

    The expansion of domestic solar energy on roofs and facades is currently not progressing fast enough to achieve Switzerland's climate and energy policy goals. Because there is little space in Switzerland for large photovoltaic systems in open spaces, solar energy must also be harvested outside of settlements, write the Swiss Association for Solar Energy, Swissolar , and the Swiss Energy Foundation ( SES ) in a media release of the same name.

    "The greatest potential lies in buildings", David Stickelberger, managing director of Swissolar, is quoted there. "According to sonnendach.ch, 10 percent more electricity per year could be produced on suitable roofs and facades than Switzerland currently consumes." However, in view of the urgent need for action, it is difficult to tap this potential in good time.

    That is why the two organizations, in cooperation with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ( ZHAW ), shed light on three areas outside of settlements where photovoltaic installations would be possible, but often cannot be implemented due to spatial planning obstacles: on noise barriers, in the agricultural zone and in the alpine area.

    These obstacles have to be removed, warns Felix Nipkow from the SES. That is why his foundation and Swissolar have commissioned the ZHAW to clarify conflicting goals with legal experts with regard to these three installation rooms and to identify solutions. All three reports were published by Dike Verlag . They can be downloaded from SES or ordered in printed form.

  • Zurich architects receive the European Solar Prize

    Zurich architects receive the European Solar Prize

    In awarding this year's Eurosolar prizes, Eurosolar honored the Zurich company Felix Partner Architektur in the solar architecture category for realizing a project at Bergün GR. According to a press release, a 350-year-old Graubünden farmhouse in Latsch was converted into a modern zero-energy house through consistent use of solar energy. The historical substance was preserved.

    The European Solar Prize has been awarded by Eurosolar since 1994 for particularly eligible projects in the field of renewable energies. Eurosolar is the short form of European Association for Renewable Energies e. V. The association has its seat in Bonn. The winners in the categories of municipalities, solar architecture, industry, regional associations, mobility, media and education contribute with their outstanding projects to regenerative and decentralized energy supply in Europe, according to the media release.

    Eurosolar President Peter Droege is quoted as saying that the award-winning projects are perfect examples of the ongoing transformation of the energy system: "Today's award winners show how the world can become completely renewable."

    In addition to the award for the best project in the solar architecture category by the Swiss architects, other award winners are highlighted in the communication. Such an island community that owns, manages and maintains its own energy network that supplies all residents with renewable electricity. There is also a film director who raises awareness of the ecological and social effects of coal power. And also to a so-called social enterprise, which enables an independent and low-carbon energy supply with mobile biogas technology.