Swiss power supply – Less than 17 kilometers of underground cable from Aargau to the canton of Zurich – News
- The Federal Council is slowing down the project for an accelerated high-voltage line in the ground from Aargau to the canton of Zurich.
- Instead of a length of 17 kilometers, the Federal Council only allows an underground cable to be four kilometers long.
- It is to be laid on a section between Besenbüren and Jonen (AG).
- This area of the Reuss landscape is part of the federal inventory of landscapes and natural monuments of national importance.
Two years ago, Swissgrid’s first underground high-voltage line was put into operation between Beznau (AG) and Birr (AG). Now the 17-kilometer high-voltage line between Niederwil (AG) and Obfelden (ZH) has to be replaced. It needs a stronger line (380 kilovolts instead of 220).
But the line is only to be laid underground for a section of almost four kilometers, the Federal Chancellery announced. The Aargau cantonal government had requested this along the entire route. She relied on the region.
The Federal Council believes that underground cabling on a section is best from the point of view of spatial planning and landscape protection. 17 kilometers of underground cabling are also not legally possible. The forest area is protected. Clearing, encroachment on the soil and environmental pollution would be “disproportionate” in the forest.
A combination of overhead and underground cables was also rejected for technical reasons. In addition, according to the Federal Council, such a line would require additional transition structures with a large space requirement. That would have a negative impact on the landscape.
The Aargau government councilor Stephan Attiger was disappointed in an interview with SRF. He had hoped to have another conversation with the Federal Council before making a decision. But the federal government is on the lever. You take a close look at the case and decide on the right course of action, Attiger said.