Swiss National Council backs moor protection in grid expansion

The Swiss National Council wants to protect nationally important biotopes, including moors and moorlands, as Switzerland accelerates electricity grid expansion, SRF reported. The Council of States had sought broader exemptions to speed up future construction projects.

Electricity infrastructure, particularly the highest-voltage transmission lines that form the backbone of the power supply, is considered to be of national interest. Expansion and upgrades under the so-called “grid express” are intended to take priority over other interests and generally be carried out using overhead lines.

However, the two parliamentary chambers disagree over whether this priority should apply only to the highest-voltage transmission network and where exemptions should be permitted.

Members of both the political right and left in the National Council opposed creating too many exceptions. SVP member Benjamin Giezendanner of Aargau said that more exceptions would weaken the acceleration effect. If the “grid express” became a “slow train,” the proposal would lose its appeal to his party, he said.

Green Party member Marionna Schlatter of Zurich also criticised the Council of States’ decisions, saying it had shown “a little too much activism,” particularly over exemptions for infrastructure in moors, near waterways and close to forests.

Numerous ageing power lines will need to be replaced in the coming years, while additional expansion will be required because of rising electricity demand. The Federal Council and the National Council do not see continued protection for nationally important biotopes as conflicting with the goal of speeding up grid construction. They noted that only about 3 percent of high-voltage lines run through moorlands.

The Social Democratic Party sought to strengthen environmental protection under certain conditions and proposed corresponding exemptions during debate over possible underground power lines. But Martin Bäumle of the Green Liberal Party argued that building a tunnel through a moor for a 220 or 380-kilovolt line might not be the better option. An overhead line would affect the landscape, he said, but would probably cause considerably less overall damage to nature and the environment.

The centre-right majority backed that argument. Environmental organisation Pro Natura and grid operator Swissgrid both welcomed the National Council’s decisions. The issue is expected to return to the Council of States next week.