Renewable energy in the Alps: can climate protection coexist with nature? 

Expanding renewable energy in the Alps is essential to Switzerland’s energy transition and winter power supply. Recent research reveals how this can be done without jeopardising biodiversity. Switzerland is fast-tracking big solar and wind power plants to meet its climate goals. By 2035, renewable energy sources (excluding hydropower) are meant to generate six times more electricity than today, as mandated by a new law on energy supply approved in a popular vote this summer. “With the current legal framework, there is a risk that this expansion will be at the expense of biodiversity,” warns Sascha Nick, a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). His concern stems from research that he led, in which 45 scientists from the fields of renewable energies, climate research and biodiversity took part. They recently issued a report with urgent policy recommendations. “The good news is that with careful planning, we can significantly expand renewable energy ...