Swiss Voters To Get Their Say On Alpine Solar Parks

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Although it is only a cantonal vote, it will be the first time that a large group of citizens is able to express their opinions at the ballot box on the recent Alpine“solar offensive” and solar farms in the Alps more generally.

The vote in canton Valais on September 10External link was launched by the Valais Green Party, the Pro Natura conservation group and seven other organisations, which oppose a decree approved in February by the local parliament to facilitate and accelerate the approval process to build large solar farms in the mountains. They say that the law doesn't take nature properly into account and that solar panels should be put on the roofs of existing buildings.

The climate crisis and urgency over energy supplies and winter shortages have led to a fundamental rethink in Switzerland. Last September parliamentarians in Bern approvedExternal link the so-called“Solar-Express” legislation to simplify and speed up the construction of large Alpine solar parks. The federal law lowers the hurdles for their construction – including strict environmental regulations – and offers genersubsidies. To secure the funds, the solar farms must be of“national interest”, not be built in nature reserves, and should be dismantled at the end of their operational life.

Installations must also start feeding electricity into the grid from the end of 2025, with an overall production target of 2 terawatt hours (TWh) a year, or enough for 500,000 households.

“Renewable energies must be developed rapidly,” says the Swiss government, which notes that it can take over 20 years between the launch of a green energy project and its realisation.

Large high-mountain solar projects exist in some regions in China, and small solar parks can be found in the mountains in France and Austria. Big installations are rare in the Swiss Alps. But since the recent solar offensive, around 40-50 project proposals have emerged, which are at different stages of realisation and approval, says the energy office. Many projects are planned in Valais, which is known for being one of the sunniest cantons, especially in winter.

Experts say Alpine solar parks offer certain advantages, mainly that much of the power would be produced in winter when supplies are critical. On peaks and pastures, installations can take advantage of the abundant sunshine at an altitude above the clouds, where sunlight also reflects off the snow.

Armin Zeiter, president of the Grengiols municipality in canton Valais, says critics need to stop holding up projects and“think about the next generation”.

“We can take away these panels in 40-45 years and there will be no impact,” he told Swiss public television RTS.“I was in Ireland and Portugal on holiday, and there are wind turbines and solar panels in the mountains. Here in Switzerland people complain, we don't do anything and that's a real shame.”

RTS video below on planned projects in Saas-Grund and Grimentz in canton Valais.

But there are still many unknowns regarding Alpine solar farms, especially the costs, economic benefits and ideal locations. Connecting installations in high mountain areas to the national electricity grid is also complex.

The NGO Mountain Wilderness Switzerland has organised several protest actions against Alpine solar parks.

“Wild and unspoilt mountain areas are the last large refuges for many animal and plant species, where nature can develop freely. So building [solar parks] in areas that have hardly been developed is unacceptable,” Aaron Heinzmann of Mountain Wilderness Switzerland told SWI swissinfo.ch.

The NGO says panels could be put on existing infrastructure in ski resorts, for example. But much more should be done to promote the growth of solar power on roofs and façades, an idea that is well accepted among the population.“What is missing are the necessary framework and funding conditions,” says Heinzmann.