From 20 April 2025, Switzerland will be living on energy credit. Domestic resources will have been exhausted for the year, according to the Swiss Energy Foundation (SEF), which marked April 19th as the country’s “energy overshoot day”. After that point, the country relies entirely on imported energy—primarily fossil fuels and nuclear materials—to meet its needs.
Switzerland imports 70% of its energy, spending nearly CHF 8 billion a year on net energy imports. In 2023, over 87% of these imports came from EU member states, though the SEF cautions that most of these countries act merely as transit hubs, not producers. Fossil fuels and nuclear materials flowing into Switzerland via the EU often originate in the Middle East, West Asia, the former Soviet Union, the United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom. A significant share of the nuclear fuel used in Swiss reactors still contains Russian-origin uranium.
The SEF argues that Switzerland must accelerate investment in domestic renewable energy to reduce reliance on volatile and geopolitically sensitive supply chains. The EU will remain a key energy trading partner, said Léonore Hälg, head of climate and renewable energy at SEF. But in future, the focus must shift to locally produced renewable electricity, facilitated by a comprehensive electricity agreement.
Switzerland’s energy independence rate is projected to reach 30% by 2025, up from 19% in 2005, placing it around the European average. Germany stands at 30%, while France lags at 17%. At the top of the energy autonomy rankings is Estonia, at over 98%. At the bottom are Belgium, Cyprus, and Malta, with rates below 10%.
More on this:
SEF report (in German)
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