By looking at deep geothermal energy in Switzerland, this article illustrates how innovation pathways in federal countries take entangled forms between top-down and bottom-up. The Swiss federal government presents deep geothermal energy as an important technology to decarbonize electricity production. Setbacks in early projects have slowed these efforts. Despite strong policy incentives from the federal government, no electricity is being produced from geothermal projects in Switzerland in 2019. Based on four case studies, we analyze how some cantons and cities have taken different pathways: Rather than implementing federal objectives, they favor heat production instead of electricity generation. The relative success of these initiatives led federal authorities to modify their approach to promoting geothermal energy. This study shows that federal mechanisms and instruments alone are not enough to make energy infrastructures acceptable locally. To learn from bottom-up experiences and adapt federal policies to local reality, better coordination between the federal and subnational levels is needed.

中文翻译：

---

自上而下与自下而上的纠缠：瑞士地热能源的社会技术创新路径

通过考察瑞士的深层地热能，本文说明了联邦国家的创新路径如何在自上而下和自下而上之间采取纠缠形式。瑞士联邦政府将深层地热能作为电力生产脱碳的一项重要技术。早期项目的挫折减缓了这些努力。尽管联邦政府出台了强有力的政策激励措施，但 2019 年瑞士的地热项目没有发电。 基于四个案例研究，我们分析了一些州和城市如何采取不同的途径：他们没有实施联邦目标，而是支持热生产而不是发电。这些举措的相对成功促使联邦当局修改了他们促进地热能的方法。这项研究表明，仅靠联邦机制和工具不足以使当地的能源基础设施成为可接受的。为了学习自下而上的经验并使联邦政策适应当地现实，需要在联邦和国家以下各级之间进行更好的协调。