Together is better than alone, and grid planning is no exception. That’s why various infrastructure operators and cantonal authorities are consulting each other at an early stage and working together to develop an optimal solution for the grid of the future as part of regional grid coordination. A successful project in Ticino has demonstrated the benefits of joint cooperation. The approach is now being transferred to other regions of Switzerland.
Interview
Alpine solar plants, wind farms and gas-fired power plants if required: Switzerland is expanding its capacities for domestic electricity generation. To ensure that the electricity can be transported away from the production sites, the grid infrastructure must be replaced, modernised and strengthened where necessary. Until now, however, the approval processes for renovating and expanding the grids have always been very lengthy due to objections and legal proceedings, particularly for the transmission grids.
Under the «Grid express» proposal for the conversion and expansion of the grids, the Federal Council wants to speed up the processes and hence grid renovation as a whole. One of the key points is that regional grid coordination should allow more efficient planning of infrastructure projects. In specific terms, this means that Swissgrid and the distribution system operators will involve the relevant cantons and other infrastructure operators such as SBB, the Federal Roads Office and the Federal Office of Transport in the planning process at an early stage. This will enable the parties concerned to recognise mutual influences and any potential for bundling. Municipalities and environmental associations can also be informed and invited to help find solutions.
Objectives of regional grid coordination
Until now, the grid operators have always planned their grids separately. At the very most, they sometimes coordinated individual projects as part of the planning and approval process. Regional grid coordination will now take place upstream.
The overriding objective is to ensure a high-voltage and extra-high-voltage grid that is in line with demand, environmentally sustainable and economically efficient. Close cooperation between all the players concerned should ensure that planning steps are better coordinated, synergies in regional, environmental and grid planning are exploited, subsequent planning and approval processes are accelerated, and costs are saved.
Regional grid coordination will result in fewer line routes, less pressure on the landscape and residential areas, and a stronger, better grid.
Philippe Meuli
Advantages for all the parties involved
Compared to the previous independent planning processes of the individual infrastructure operators, regional grid coordination will bring the following advantages, among others:
- An overall regional vision can be formed that will facilitate compromises
- Bundling potential can be recognised, resulting in fewer line routes
- Contradictions can be avoided between cantonal structure plans and the grid planning of infrastructure operators
- Approval processes can be simplified
- Fewer resources will be required by all the players involved in the approval process, as coordination will take place at an early stage and in a cooperative manner
Instead of three routes, only two will be needed in the valley. At the same time, the robustness of the grids of all three operators will be improved by system distribution.
Marc Vogel
Marc Vogel, grid expert at Swissgrid, gives an example: «Imagine a Swiss valley that currently has three separate power lines: pylons for the lines of the cantonal utility distribution grid, pylons for Swissgrid’s transmission grid lines and pylons for SBB transport network lines. In the future, the various players will define two joint routes as part of regional grid coordination. Lines for all three companies will be laid on both routes. This means that instead of three routes, only two will be needed in the valley. At the same time, the robustness of the grids of all three operators will be improved by system distribution.»
A three-stage process
The process of regional grid coordination takes place in three stages:
1. Initialisation stage
In this stage, the participants get to know each other, define the project organisation, determine responsibilities and establish common goals. «Everyone involved must understand what regional grid coordination is all about and realise that they are in the same boat,» says Marc Vogel.
3. Target grid formation and division into steps
The parties involved now outline the target vision for grid development: they describe what the grids should look like in the long term, e.g. in 30 to 40 years’ time. The new routes will be defined on the basis of this target vision. The infrastructure operators then determine the best way to implement the target grid, dividing it into steps and sub-projects.
After regional grid coordination, the implementation of the individual projects begins with the relevant approval processes. Fewer objections should be raised at this point, because multiple players have been involved right from the start.
«Studio Generale» – a pioneering project
With its «Studio Generale» project, Ticino is the pioneering region in Switzerland for regional grid coordination. For the purpose of the project, the Canton of Ticino, Swissgrid, SBB and Azienda Elettrica Ticinese (AET) established a new working organisation as long ago as 2013. The aim was to develop a coordinated solution for future power line projects and regional development. The joint project allowed approaches to be adopted that would otherwise not have been possible. This included infrastructure bundling. Both the length of the power lines in the area and their effects on the landscape were successfully reduced thanks to the project. The situation for the population will improve significantly as a result, as bundling will also lessen the impact on residential areas.
Problems need to be put out in the open so that they can be solved together.
Philippe Meuli
Philippe Meuli has supervised «Studio Generale» on behalf of Swissgrid from the very beginning. What has he learned from the project? «Firstly, transparent communication is crucial in a project like this: problems need to be put out in the open so that they can be solved together. Secondly, the initial ideas often didn’t prove to be the best solutions in the end. It’s important to keep an open mind. And thirdly, there are no shortcuts in the process. If a step takes longer than expected, it’s ultimately time well spent.»
Transferring the method to other regions
«Studio Generale» has shown that regional grid coordination simplifies the approval process as hoped, helping to ensure the successful and efficient implementation of grid projects. The positive experiences from Ticino will now be transferred to other regions of Switzerland.
«In order to determine where regional grid coordination makes sense, all major projects for expanding electricity, road and rail networks will be recorded on a map from 2025,» explains Marc Vogel from Swissgrid. «This will make it easy to identify synergies, such as laying power lines through tunnels or merging routes.» Regional grid coordination will therefore now be initialised in other regions of Switzerland where there is a potential for bundling linear infrastructures.
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