SWEET 2023: RECIPE

The objectives of the proposal are as follows:

1. Assess and quantify the criticality of each infrastructure type relevant to the Swiss energy system throughout the energy transition. Infrastructure criticality will be assessed at national, cantonal and municipality levels for various energy system evolution and climate change scenarios. Per infrastructure a set of qualitative and quantitative criticality metrics will be identified and evaluated. The metrics will be assessed for various steps of the energy transition.
2. Identify a set of (technical, societal, economic, environmental) hazards, to which the Swiss energy system is vulnerable during the energy transition, posing the highest risks. Per considered hazard (or combination of hazards), the energy system vulnerability will be assessed at various spatial scales, while the hazard propagation paths will be identified.
3. Propose a set of resilience enhancement measures that are techno-economically and socially suitable for reducing the identified risks. Depending on the risk, a measure might be national or local. Four categories of measures will be considered:

(i) building new infrastructure,
(ii) repurposing or maintaining existing infrastructure,
(iii) modifying existing processes for operation and maintenance of the various components of the energy system or introducing new ones, and
(iv) non-technical measures to prevent the propagation of the impacts of the energy system disturbances to the Swiss economy, population, and resources

Finally, propose a roadmap of actions to the Swiss stakeholders, such as federal, cantonal and municipality authorities, infrastructure owners and operators, interest groups and economic actors, so that they can timely and efficiently address the identified risks.

Tangible deliverables will be:

1. criticality metrics for each infrastructure relevant to the energy system,
2. a list of the most critical hazards (or combination of hazards),
3. quantification of how the hazards propagate through the energy system, and
4. a list of resilience enhancement measures.
    

In the coming decades, Switzerland will be undergoing two major changes. On the one hand, its energy system will be progressively transformed to a system with net-zero CO2 emissions, according to the Energy Strategy 2050. On the other hand, the ongoing climate change is expected to manifest itself with increasing intensity, most notably by means of extreme weather events. Due to the crucial importance of uninterrupted energy supply for the Swiss economy, population well-being and vital resources, it is imperative to timely identify the risks and the appropriate mitigation measures.