On 18 June, more than 400 participants experienced interesting lectures and two exciting panel discussions on sustainable grid development. The event was organised by the Energy Science Center of ETH Zurich, the Renewables Grid Initiative and Swissgrid.
The main auditorium of ETH Zurich was nearly bursting at the seams. Interest in the public debate on the Swiss grid strategy in an international context and from a scientific perspective was huge. The lectures and discussions focused on the technical and economic challenges of grid development against the backdrop of political developments in Switzerland and Europe.
Prof. Christian Franck, from ETH Zurich's Power Systems & High Voltage Laboratories, and Prof. Reza Abhari, Institute for Energy Technology, explained the issue from a scientific perspective. Dr Arthur Janssen and Matthias Schmid from Swissgrid presented the planning strategy for the «Strategic Grid 2025» initiative. Finally, Sven Teske spoke about the future of grid planning from the perspective of the environmental organisation Greenpeace.
Two enthusiastically and incisively conducted panel discussions featuring Dr Walter Steinmann, Director of the Federal Energy Office, Pierre-Alain Graf, CEO of Swissgrid, Robert Schroeder, Manager System Development at ENTSO-E, Sven Teske, Project Manager at Greenpeace, Prof. Göran Andersson, Professor at ETH Zurich, and Antonella Battaglini, Executive Director of RGI, rounded off the attractive programme.
The delighted Swissgrid CEO Pierre-Alain Graf said: «I sense that a new era in energy policy is dawning, in which all stakeholders will cooperate.» There was general consensus at the conference that the European transmission grid must be revamped jointly and made fit for a sustainable energy future.
After the Grid Forum in Lucerne and the event «Le réseau électrique de demain» at EPFL Lausanne, the conference at ETH Zurich represented a further milestone in the dialogue on the «Strategic Grid 2015». Impressions of the event are available in the photo gallery. The video recordings of the event are available with immediate effect on Swissgrid's YouTube channel.
