Abstract
This chapter presents the latest trends of deep geothermal energy (DGE) in Switzerland. The country played a pioneering role in the development of low-enthalpy DGE. But setbacks in early flagship projects have slowed these efforts. Since then, the development of DGE in Switzerland has been characterised by a plurality of technologies, actors and institutional frameworks. We examine how federalism and direct-democracy has shaped this plural landscape and how it influences current DGE development. The chapter first introduces the institutional and political setting of DGE, as well as the main actors involved. Then, focusing on specific cases, the chapter presents different forms of public engagement that are shaped by the variety of actors involved, as well as the regulatory frameworks and cultural backgrounds. The results underline the importance of taking into account the social context of DGE projects. Furthermore, the results highlight that such a context is dynamic and responsive to the communication and public engagement strategies set up by DGE project operators. In conclusion, using Switzerland as an example, we show that operators must develop functional-dynamic siting, communication and public engagement procedures.
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Notes
- 1.
A more extended version of this study is available as a published research paper, see Stauffacher et al. (2015).
- 2.
A longer version of this study is in preparation for submission.
- 3.
Statements classified in the ‘knowledge’ frame in the study on French-speaking news articles correspond to a subcategory of statements classified under the ‘technology’ frame in the analysis of German-speaking media.
- 4.
A longer version of this study is available in German, see Muratore et al. (2016).
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Evelina Trutnevyte for comments on an earlier version of this chapter, as well as Corinne Moser, Nora Muggli and the students of the transdisciplinary case study 2015 who participated in parts of the research presented in this chapter.
Parts of this text have been adapted from annual reports for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, which was written within SCCER and CCES/CCEM Geotherm-2 and from the TA Swiss Study.
Funding: Geotherm2 project, co-financed by the Competence Centers Environment and Sustainability (CCES) and Energy and Mobility (CCEM) of the ETH Domain; the Swiss Foundation for Technology Assessment (TA-SWISS); the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research-Supply of Electricity (SCCER-SoE); the Energy Turnaround National Research Program (NRP70) of the Swiss National Science Foundation; Canton of Geneva and Services industriels de Genève (SIG); European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme DESTRESS (grant agreement No 691728).
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Ejderyan, O., Ruef, F., Stauffacher, M. (2019). Geothermal Energy in Switzerland: Highlighting the Role of Context. In: Manzella, A., Allansdottir, A., Pellizzone, A. (eds) Geothermal Energy and Society. Lecture Notes in Energy, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78286-7_15
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