The Wildegg-Brugg power plant is the first run-of-river power plant in Switzerland to receive an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certified according to ISO 14025. The EPD is based on an environmental audit which identifies the full environmental impact of the power generation process for the entire lifecycle of the plant, including its construction and all the associated installed systems, the annual operations and its eventual dismantling.

The results of the environmental audit at the Wildegg-Brugg hydroelectric power plant were excellent. The plant produces greenhouse gas emissions of only 3.1g/CO2-equivalents per kWh, making it one of the most environmentally friendly energy systems yet. The average emissions value for the Swiss power mix is approximately 20g per kWh. This means that the Wildegg-Brugg power plant makes a significant contribution to climate friendly power production in Switzerland.

However, this energy system is not entirely CO2-free. Most CO2 emissions at the Wildegg-Brugg plant are the result of the construction process, especially the production of the cement used, but another factor was the transportation of materials by coal-fired steam engines. But the high initial input of materials and energy is paying dividends today. The Wildegg-Brugg hydroelectric power plant produces approximately 300 GWh of power annually, making it extremely efficient because most of the environmental impact factors measured per kWh are lower than for other power generation technologies.

From a holistic perspective, hydroelectricity is one of the most environmentally friendly forms of power generated by major power plants. This is due to the limited output of greenhouse gas emissions combined with the large volume of power that can be generated with this technology. Hydroelectric power plants therefore represent an essential pillar of climate friendly power supply. Run-of-river power plants supply base-load electricity while storage power plants provide peak load electricity. Axpo is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in Switzerland.