Per year and inhabitant, Switzerland produces 250 kilowatt hours of solar (236kWh) and wind (14kWh) power – the amount needed to power a dishwasher, roughly. This puts Switzerland in 25th place when compared with the 28 European Union nations, according to a study published by the Swiss Energy Foundation (SES)External link on Wednesday.
Leader Denmark produced ten times as much solar and wind power as Switzerland in 2018, but its 2,568kWh per person included just 165kWh of solar, considerably less than Switzerland. Germany placed second, with 558kWh of solar and 1,348kWh of wind power per person.
Only Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Latvia placed below Switzerland in the overall ranking. This is “alarming” for a country that “likes to boast about its progressive electricity policy and generation,” stated SES project manager Tonja Iten.
The Swiss Federal Office of EnergyExternal link recently estimated that 67 terawatt hours of electricity could be generated annually in Switzerland on house roofs and facades alone. This would clearly exceed the country’s current electricity consumption of 58 TWh per year.
The Swiss consume around 7,000 kWh of electricity per capita and year. The main source of energy in Switzerland is hydropower, which covers 60% of the grid. In 2017, the Swiss voted to gradually phase out nuclear power and to ban the construction of new nuclear power plants. About 32% of Switzerland’s electricity productionExternal link is nuclear.
Wind and solar power together account for just 3.7%. The share of solar energy rose by 18% last year, bringing its market share to 3.5%. Wind power, however, is stagnating, and no new turbines were erected last year.
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Swiss electricity getting greener
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Switzerland’s energy consumption is getting greener, with 68% of it coming from renewable sources in 2017, compared with 62% the previous year.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
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The Fête de l'Epouvantail (scarecrow festival) is celebrating its 30th anniversary and returns to Denens in canton Vaud for its seventh edition from July 10-20.
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A 35-year-old man has died in a work accident at the valley station of the Heimwehfluh toboggan run in Matten near Interlaken, canton Bern.
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The Swiss embassy in Tehran re-opened on Sunday after being closed on June 20 owing to the unstable situation in the country.
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Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and her youngest daughter Princess Ariane attended the Netherlands' women's European Championship football match against Wales in Switzerland on Saturday.
Swiss want to better protect military airfields from spying
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Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister says he wants to better protect Swiss military airfields against espionage activities.
Man charged with flying drone at women’s Euro 2025
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A man flew a drone around the venue on Wednesday evening during the first match of the Women's EURO 2025 in St. Gallen. The 30-year-old violated the absolute ban on flying during match days. He was reported to the police.
More than 250 Swiss companies sign CO2 reduction initiative
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A total of 257 companies from Switzerland have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In doing so, they are committing to CO2 reduction targets that are compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Swiss accident prevention group sees federal targets at risk
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The Swiss government's target for accident figures is at risk, reckons Mario Cavegn, member of the executive board of the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.
Feminicide: Swiss justice minister calls for electronic monitoring
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Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans has called for electronic monitoring and an ankle bracelet warning system for perpetrators of violence against women.
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What a Swiss nuclear disaster could do to Europe
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If there were a serious accident at one of Switzerland’s nuclear reactors, many of the radiation victims would be residents of other countries.
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The Swiss approach to boosting renewable energy is far too passive and slow, finds a specialist for environmental science and management.
Critics demand greater efforts to reduce CO2 output
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Annual greenhouse gas emissions dropped slightly in 2017, according to the latest figures by the Swiss government’s environment agency.
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