Capacity Mechanism for Switzerland in 2050 - Considering the Energy Strategy 2050 of the Swiss Government

In 2012 the Swiss government developed the Energy Strategy 2050 which is currently in review at the Swiss parliament. In this strategy, there are several fundamental changes regarding the whole energy sector of Switzerland. In particular, the Swiss electricity mix for 2050 will drastically change as nuclear power plants (which have a share of about 40% in the current Swiss electricity mix) should gradually be abandoned.New renewable energy power plants should be built to replace them and this situation leads to new challenges to guarantee the security of electric energy supply. If there suddenly is no wind for the wind wheels, the sun is not shining enough to power the solar panels and water needed for hydro-electric power plants turns to ice, Switzerland will need a considerable amount of renewable energy to successfullyachieve the mentioned nuclear phase-out. Switzerland will have to handle the abovementioned problems of 2050 after the nuclear phase-out is completed. By checking the necessity of capacity mechanisms for Switzerland in 2050 in combination with the Energy Strategy of the Swiss government, this paper contributes to the prevention of a scarcity of electricity and the following inevitable blackout....