Energy consumption higher than ever
Swiss consumption 2010
In 2010, Switzerland’s overall energy consumption rose to the new record level of 911,550 terajoules, an increase of 4.4% over 2009. The main causes were the much colder weather, positive developments in the economy and continuing growth in the population.
The demand for energy was driven by three main factors:
- The weather was much colder than in the previous year
- The positive economic developments after the downturn in 2009
- Population growth
Increases in the combustibles, vehicle fuels and electricity sectors
Consumption of the combustibles extra-light heating oil and gas increased sharply while consumption of vehicle fuels rose only slightly. Sales of diesel and aviation fuel increased substantially whereas the consumption of petrol fell. The trend to substitute petrol with diesel as a vehicle fuel continued unabated. Demand for heavy heating oil declined sharply while more petroleum coke was burned. Electricity consumption rose by 4.0%.
Increased consumption of renewable energies
In 2010, 7.7% more energy was produced from wood. There was a major increase of 21.1% in the use of ambient heat using heat pump technology again underlining the clear trend toward this type of heating. High growth rates were experienced in the district heating, solar heat and biogas sectors. After a sharp decline of almost 29% in 2009, biofuels made a strong comeback with a 20.0% increase. Use of industrial waste and coal to produce energy also increased although there had been a decline in the previous year.
> Energy Consumption in Switzerland 2010 (PDF, 102 KB)
Swiss Federal Office of Energy
