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Zurich – Switzerland could save around 175 billion Swiss francs in energy costs in just 25 years with energy-efficient buildings, a new study finds. This will require insulating buildings in accordance with the Minergie-P standard and covering roofs with photovoltaic panels.

Transforming a building into a mini power station isn’t a new idea. But now a study has shown for the first time just how large the potential is for Switzerland as a whole by means of measuring actual energy efficiency. The PlusEnergy Buildings Study 2019 found that 175 billion Swiss francs can be saved in energy costs or generated as additional income over a period of 25 years.

Two relatively simple measures are required to achieve this: buildings must be insulated in accordance with the Minergie-P standard for low-energy buildings and their roofs must be fully covered with photovoltaic panels.

Under the study’s maximum scenario, if 92,000 buildings are converted in this way per year, some 8.57 terawatt hours of energy generated by fossil fuels or nuclear power can be substituted and 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided. However, in 2018, only 25 of such plus-energy buildings were built in Switzerland. These generate 3 gigawatt hours of solar electricity per year, but require only 2 gigawatt hours; the rest is available for clean mobility or can be fed into the grid.

According to the study, the state doesn’t need to introduce additional taxes or levies to encourage the construction of plus-energy buildings. Instead, bureaucratic restrictions should be lifted and today’s limit on the one-off payment for renewable energy facilities should be raised from the current 30 kilowatts to at least 200 kilowatts.

National Councillor Leo Müller submitted a motion to this effect in 2016, but it was rejected by both the National Council and Federal Council.

The PlusEnergy Buildings Study 2019 was produced by the Swiss Solar Agency in collaboration with the Geneva School of Engineering, Architecture and Landscape, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, the University of Geneva and the University of Paris C.