WP3 EX-POST Case studies : Green Hydropower in Switzerland

Hydropower in Switzerland accounts for about 59% of the electricity supply and has clear advantages in terms of the CO2 balance, but hydropower creates environmental disturbances in river systems. After the Swiss hydropower boom in the 1950s and 1960s, public opinion began to turn against plans to invest in new hydropower plants in the late 1970s and early 1980s due to their negative impacts on ecosystems and landscapes. Grassroots movements against new hydropower projects gained widespread public support and now more people are willing to pay extra for so ‐ called ‘renewable electricity’.