Cooperation for success

The 2^nd China-Switzerland Energy Working Group took place in Beijing, Hangzhou and Yichang end of November 2018. The event built on the successful 1^st Meeting which was held in Switzerland in October 2017. The Working Group has its foundation in a Memorandum of Understanding for energy cooperation signed during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Switzerland in January 2017.

The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China, China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI) and PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation (HDEC) were the hosts. The China Three Gorges Corporation and State Grid Corporation of China supported the event. The 18-member strong Swiss delegation headed by State Secretary Benoît Revaz included participants from the ETH Zurich, EPFL Lausanne, HSLU Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Swissgrid, ABB, Alpiq Holding, CSEM / PV-Lab and the Embassy of Switzerland in China.

This year’s Working Group marked many highlights and focused on the development, construction, key technologies, and environmental impact of pumped storage power stations and PV industries. Li Fanrong, Vice Administrator of the NEA, and State Secretary Benoît Revaz of the SFOE, opened the Working Group by releasing the China-Switzerland Joint Study on Advanced Pumped Storage Technologies. Further discussions included Roundtable Seminars focusing on Pumped Storage, PV and the Future of Electricity Supply, which took place at the HDEC Headquarters in Hangzhou. Furthermore, the Chinese partners organized site visits to the Xianju Pumped Storage Power Station (1.5 GW) as well as the Three Gorges Dam (22.5 GW) in Yichang.

Throughout the Symposium, the Chinese and Swiss partners identified concrete projects of cooperation. The dialogue will continue and a 3^rd edition of the Working Group will take place in Switzerland in 2019.

Simon Büschi, diplomatic counsellor SFOE