Research focus on the Alps

WP3 conducts the analysis of technical and socio-economic solutions to increase decentralized renewable energy production in the Swiss mountainous areas, acknowledging that Swiss urban areas are and will continue to be dependent on energy produced in the mountains. Therefore, the design, operation, and uptake of multi-energy systems with maximal shares of locally sourced renewable energy will be analysed in the context of existing hydropower. WP3 covers improved estimates of solar PV, wind, and biomass potentials, the analysis of supply-demand matching and export to urban areas, the role of new technologies (battery and thermal storage, power-to-x, and electric transportation, including mountain infrastructures), distribution grids, microgrids and particularly pumped storage. The socio-economic perspective is again different as larger players, such as hydropower companies and cities, need to interact with smaller local communities, and hence the aspects of financing, new business models and policy acceptance in the Swiss Alps will be investigated.

(start: M1, duration: 48 months)