Hydropower is the most important pillar of Switzerland's electricity supply and is to be further expanded.
This expansion is being promoted, among other things, by means of spatial planning instruments. In this context, the Federal Energy Act (‘Energiegesetz [EnG]’) stipulates that the areas and watercourses suitable for the use of water and wind power must be specified in the cantonal structure plan. The federal government provides methodological support to the cantons and ensures an overall view, uniformity and coordination.
With the document ‘Festlegung der für die Nutzung der Wasserkraft geeigneten Gewässerstrecken im kantonalen Richtplan’ (versions available in German and French only), the Federal Offices for the Environment (FOEN), Spatial Development (ARE) and Energy (SFOE) recommend to the cantons a methodology for fulfilling the legal mandate to designate suitable stretches of water for the use of hydropower.
Since 2011, the ‘Recommendation for the development of cantonal protection and utilisation strategies in the area of small hydropower plants’ has provided the cantons with an aid for their structural planning.
The new recommendation is closely based on the previous recommendation and takes into account the applicable provisions of energy and environmental law.
