Canton Schaffhausen wants to use the Rhine power station itself from 2030
The government council in the canton of Schaffhausen does not want to renew the concession for the Neuhausen Rhine power station when it expires in 2030. The takeover by the canton is considered to be sensible in terms of climate policy and economically attractive.
The canton of Schaffhausen wants to take over the Rhine power station near Neuhausen itself in ten years. The concession for the power plant, which was built in 1948 and commissioned in 1950, expires at the end of 2030. Rheinkraftwerk Neuhausen AG (RKN) has applied for the extension of the water rights concession granted 80 years ago by the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zurich. However, the Schaffhausen government council, in coordination with the canton of Zurich, does not want to extend this, but rather declare the so-called reversal for the plant at the Rhine Falls and take over the plant itself. According to the canton's media release , this must be communicated to the previous operator ten years in advance, specifically by December 27, 2020.
District President and Energy Director Martin Kessler explains the procedure: “At the end of the concession, the canton will have the unique opportunity to take over the power plant. The economic and energy-political potential of the power plant is very interesting for the canton of Schaffhausen and offers considerable opportunities. Incidentally, the continuation of the hydropower plant corresponds to the energy strategy of the federal government and the canton and also makes sense from a climate policy perspective. "
This means that the added value resulting from the power plant remains in the canton. The RKN currently uses 29.9 cubic meters per second and produces around 45 gigawatt hours of energy per year. The energy production costs are extremely cheap at 2.9 cents.