Around 5,000 solar panels have been attached to Switzerland’s longest dam with the aim to maximize the country’s green energy production, reports Reuters.
In the winter months, when a drop in rain and meltwater shrinks the production of hydropower throughout Switzerland, the new panels will generate clean electricity from the sunlight reflected from the snow on the mountains. According to the firm responsible for the project, Axpo, the solar panels will produce 3,3 million kilowatt hours of energy per year, enough electricity to power 700 houses.
“One of the qualities of alpine solar plants is that especially in winter they produce up to three times more electricity than a comparable facility in the midlands,” Axpo spokesperson Jeanette Schranz told Reuters.
Axpo aims to install 4,200 solar projects in the alpine country's mountains and lower-lying regions by 2030.
Last year, the government of Switzerland streamlined the approval of new solar projects to help ensure a steady supply of power during the winter.
