Alpine nimbyism freezes Swiss green energy dreams Published on Share
High in the Swiss Alps, where even in mid-June there is snow, workers are installing photovoltaic panels across the face of Europe’s highest dam.
Switzerland has long basked in its reputation for clean energy: helped by abundant hydropower, less than 10 per cent of the electricity it produces emits greenhouse gases. Yet today, Switzerland’s complex regulatory process and local objections to potential eyesores means new green projects such as at the Muttsee reservoir have become an exception.
As a result, one of the world’s wealthiest and most environmentally conscious societies is in danger of moving backwards. Switzerland is also about to become more dependent on imported energy, just as it faces the growing risk it may decouple from the EU’s electricity grid thanks to an increasingly fractious diplomatic tussle with Brussels.
Alpine nimbyism freezes Swiss green energy dreams swissinfo.ch - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swissinfo.ch Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.