Federal Council Misinformation Exposed

The Federal Council addressed the Forest Protection and Municipal Consent Initiative in record time — within just one month — and, as with all popular initiatives to date, rejected it.

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — 22 October 2025

The arguments used clearly originate from the Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) and contain numerous serious falsehoods.

The Federal Office of Energy is part of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), which is headed by Albert Rösti (SVP) as departmental head.

The misinformation is corrected below.

1. “The initiatives weaken security of supply” / “The 150-metre setback clause would amount to a technology ban and violates the constitution.”

False.

The SFOE itself calculated in 2022 that 4,439 wind turbines could be erected in Switzerland — roughly half of them outside forests.
These installations would supply 15 TWh of electricity per year, a quarter of Switzerland’s electricity consumption.
Even under the initiatives, more than half of the national territory remains available for wind power.
Wind turbines remain possible — but outside forests and only with the consent of those affected.

2. “The forest’s protection interests are already taken into account in legislation.”

False.

At present, forest clearance for wind turbines is readily possible.
In the canton of Zurich, 96 out of 100 planned sites are located in the middle of forests, many of them in ecologically particularly valuable areas.
Until the end of 2024, forests were protected from wind turbines; since 1 January 2025, electricity production has systematically taken precedence over forest protection.
The Forest Protection Initiative seeks to restore the last retreat for nature and people.
In addition, the international species protection agreement Eurobats requires a minimum distance of 200 m between forests and wind turbines.

3. “In the vast majority of cantons, wind farms require the approval of the host municipality.”

False.

In the cantons of Solothurn, Fribourg, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Jura, Schaffhausen and Neuchâtel, the population has no right to vote.
In Zurich, the abolition of participation rights is currently even being discussed.
This means that in one third of cantons, the population has effectively been stripped of its power.

4. “The Acceleration Decree strengthens the position of municipalities.”

False.

The Acceleration Decree changes nothing: in many cantons, the population's right to co-determination has already been abolished.
The Municipal Protection Initiative seeks to restore precisely this right of participation.

5. “The Municipal Protection Initiative is a violation of the constitution.”

False.

The initiative seeks to amend the constitution, not violate it.
It guarantees that affected municipalities can vote on wind power plants.
For other projects, planning sovereignty remains with the cantons.
Federal Councillor Albert Rösti promised during the referendum campaign that every municipality would be able to vote on wind power plants — the initiative seeks to enshrine this promise.

6. “Wind turbines produce two thirds of electricity consumption during the winter half-year.”

False.

The actual figure is 58%, not 66%.
During the three actual winter months, production amounts to less than 25% of annual output (due to icing).
Last winter, Switzerland exported more electricity than it imported.
Better security of supply in winter would be possible if reservoir lakes were obligatorily used for domestic supply, instead of selling electricity abroad at peak prices.

7. “75% of the most advanced projects would be affected by the Forest Protection Initiative.”

Imprecise.

Many projects would be affected, but not all sites would be rendered impossible.
In many cases, only project adjustments would be necessary to comply with forest protection requirements.

The Federal Council's and SFOE's argumentation contains numerous false or misleading representations. The Forest Protection Initiative protects the last remaining natural spaces, the Municipal Protection Initiative strengthens democratic co-determination — and both still permit the construction of wind turbines on a large scale, writes Freie Landschaft Schweiz in today's press release.

Windkraftanlagen und Wildtiere: Saubere Energie im Konflikt

Federal Council rejects the «Forest Protection Initiative» and the «Municipal Protection Initiative»

Bern, 22.10.2025 — On 22 October 2025, the Federal Council held a deliberation on the two popular initiatives «Against the Destruction of Our Forests by Wind Turbines (Forest Protection Initiative)» and «For the Protection of Direct Democracy in Wind Farm Projects (Municipal Protection Initiative)». It rejects both initiatives without a counter-proposal. The core concerns of the two initiatives regarding the protection of forests and municipalities are already addressed in existing legislation and have been strengthened by the acceleration decree adopted by Parliament in autumn 2025. The UVEK will present the Federal Council with the messages on both initiatives in May 2026.

On 25 September 2025, the two federal popular initiatives came into being. The Forest Protection Initiative seeks to enshrine in the Federal Constitution that no wind turbines may be built in forests or within 150 metres of forests and forest pastures. Such installations would also have to be dismantled if they were erected after 1 May 2024. The Municipal Protection Initiative seeks to anchor in the Federal Constitution that every wind energy project requires the approval of the host municipality and the particularly affected neighbouring municipalities. Installations erected after 1 May 2024 require subsequent approval by eligible voters.

Initiatives undermine security of supply

Domestic electricity production must be expanded, as electricity consumption will increase significantly in the coming years due to decarbonisation in pursuit of the net-zero target by 2050, growing digitalisation, and population growth. The Energy Act contains the targets for expanding renewable domestic electricity production. Security of supply in winter is to be strengthened in accordance with the Electricity Supply Act through storage hydropower plants as well as solar and wind energy installations of national interest. These provisions were confirmed by the electorate in the 2024 vote on the Electricity Act . Adoption of the initiatives would severely restrict the expansion of wind energy in Switzerland. Since wind energy produces two thirds of its electricity during the winter half-year, this would eliminate a key pillar of winter security of supply, which would have to be compensated for by other production technologies or imports.

Municipal Protection Initiative

In the vast majority of cantons, wind energy projects today require municipal land-use planning and therefore also the approval of the host municipality. Exceptions are the cantons of Lucerne, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Neuchâtel and Jura, where the planning and approval procedures for wind energy projects are regulated at the cantonal level. In the canton of Zurich, a corresponding amendment to the cantonal energy law is under discussion. At the federal level, the Acceleration Decree adopted by parliament in September 2025 provides for a consolidated plan approval procedure for the construction of solar and wind energy installations of national interest. Host municipalities must explicitly consent unless cantonal law provides otherwise. The position of municipalities is therefore strengthened by the Acceleration Decree, and the core concern of the municipal protection initiative is met. A veto right for the host municipality and affected municipalities in the constitution would represent a far-reaching encroachment on the constitutional competence of the cantons to regulate construction and planning matters as well as on the corresponding cantonal legislation.

Forest Protection Initiative

Wind energy installations of national interest are considered, pursuant to the Forest Act (2024 referendum) to be inherently site-specific as a matter of principle and may be built in forests with a clearing permit. The federal law provisions in the Forest Act, the Nature and Cultural Heritage Protection Act and the Environmental Protection Act must, however, be fully complied with. In accordance with the Energy Act the cantons designate suitable areas for wind energy use in their cantonal structure plans and must take into account the various protection interests (landscape, biotopes, forest conservation, agriculture, etc.). For wind energy installations with a total height of 30 metres or more, the cantons must always carry out a comprehensive weighing of interests by means of an environmental impact assessment and must take into account the protection of potentially affected forest areas at an early stage. The protection interests of forests are thus already adequately considered in current legislation.

A large proportion of the wind energy zones designated by the cantons in recent years are located at least in the vicinity of forests. At least 100 projects with three to nine turbines each and five projects with 12 to 19 turbines each would be affected by the forest protection initiative. The distances of 150 metres required by the initiative affect almost half of Switzerland's total land area. This would drastically restrict the cantons' room for manoeuvre in designating suitable sites for wind energy installations. The 150-metre buffer clause would thus amount to a de facto technology ban and also violates the constitutional requirement for a broadly diversified energy supply. An estimated 75 percent of all already well-advanced projects would be affected. Several projects that already have a land-use plan ratified by the municipality might not be built at all or would have to be dismantled.

Rapid public vote on the initiatives to create legal certainty

Adoption of the initiatives would have serious consequences for the expansion of wind energy in Switzerland. Wind energy, which produces electricity particularly in winter, would thus be unable to make an adequate contribution to security of supply. The transitional provisions (dismantling of installations constructed after 1 May 2024) create considerable legal uncertainty. The Federal Council therefore wishes to obtain clarity on the outcome of these initiatives quickly and to refer them to parliament as soon as possible. The UVEK will present the Federal Council with the dispatch on both initiatives by May 2026.

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