Integrating very high shares of decentralized renewable energy into the Swiss energy system: Electricity market design and policy (SWEET_EDGE)

Description

EDGE wants to fast-track the growth of locally sourced decentralized renewable energy in Switzerland. The project aims to ensure that by 2035 and 2050, when ambitious shares of renewable energy are reached, the Swiss energy system is designed and operated in a technically and economically optimal and secure way, and that it is well positioned in the European markets.
The Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE) at ZHAW is involved in work packages 7 and 8 of EDGE. In work package 7, “Deployment and integration of decentralized systems”, we contribute to the economic analysis of various technology scenarios of the electricity sector and study how the Swiss electricity sector interacts with the European one. In work package 8, “Policy, markets, and finance to scale up renewable systems”, we use a numerical model for analysing how electricity market design and other policies influence the decisions of households to invest in decentralized renewable generation capacity. We then assess what the distributional effects of the policy measures are and if the outcomes can be considered equitable.

Key data

Co-Projectlead

Dr. Florian Landis, Prof. Dr. Regina Betz

Project team

Dr. Ali Darudi, Raphaela Kotsch, Dr. Ingmar Schlecht, Dr. Christian Winzer, Prof. Dr. Hannes Weigt, Prof. Philippe Thalmann

Project partners

Université de Genève / Renewable Energy Systems; Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne EPFL / Human-Environment Relations in Urban Systems; Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL / Sustainable Forestry; Universität Basel / Chair for Energy Economics; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich ETHZ / Klimafinanzierung und -politik; Universität Bern / Chair of Comparative Politics; Universität St. Gallen / Chair for Management of Renewable Energies; Hochschule Luzern / Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Technology; Berner Fachhochschule BFH / Laboratory for Photovoltaic Systems; Paul Scherrer Institut PSI / Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory; SUNWELL Sàrl; Basler & Hofmann AG

Project status

ongoing, started 01/2023

Institute/Centre

Center for Energy and Environment (CEE)

Funding partner

Bundesamt für Energie BFE / Förderprogramm SWEET

Project budget

590'000 CHF