At the end of September, the Federal Council decided to build an emergency power station in Birr AG. Cost point: 470 million Swiss francs. That the power plant runs on oil and so much CO22 would emit like the city of Zurich – for free. At the time, all of Switzerland feared that they would be without power in the winter.
The construction of the power plant is in full swing. At its core are eight turbines. They are already in the harbor of Birsfelden BL – ready to be placed on the finished concrete slabs in Birr. But now the Bundesrat is reassuring: the crisis will probably not be so bad in the coming months. The water reserves in the reservoirs should last until spring. It is therefore quite possible that the emergency power station in Aargau is not needed at all.
The energy supply in the Ukraine is completely different: a third of the power station park there is down. “Our energy systems have been badly hit by the Russian missile attacks,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, 51, told Blick in early November. Klitschko is preparing the Ukrainian capital for a blackout and is already considering evacuating parts of Kiev.
“We’ve already lost the money”
Green National Councilor Kurt Egger (66, TG) is now taking action: “We won’t need the turbines for Birr. But we can do something good with it.” Specifically: Egger wants to give Ukraine four of the eight turbines.
The energy politician has contacted the project managers in Birr. They confirmed to him that his project was technically possible. The power lines in Kiev are compatible with the turbines. The transport to the port city of Odessa would take 21 days. During this time, the necessary concrete slabs and connections could be built in Kiev. “We have already lost the money for the turbines anyway,” says Egger. “But this way we can provide valuable emergency aid to Ukraine.”
Would that be allowed? “The energy supply is crucial for the war,” says GroenLinks leader Aline Trede (39, BE). “But the turbines are not war material. Nothing stands in the way of a transport to Ukraine.” According to Trede, it would be a form of aid that would benefit Switzerland. “We could get a real reputation bonus compared to other Western countries.”
The Federal Council can decide
The Greens turned to the state government this week with their concerns. “The emergency power plant in Birr goes back to a Federal Council regulation,” says Kurt Egger. “So they can also decide to make the turbines available to Ukraine.”
Why only four turbines? “We want to allay the fear that things could look different next winter.” But from the point of view of the Greens, a fossil emergency power station is the wrong tool anyway. “Instead, we need to increase our energy efficiency,” says Egger.
A Christmas present for Klitschko? The ball is in the hands of the Bundesrat.