With the exception of a few areas located mainly in high mountains, there is no longer any real wilderness – wilderness – in Switzerland. More or less, our landscapes are the direct result of human activity. And this imprint can be qualitative, whether in terms of aesthetics (think of the terraced vineyards of Lavaux) or even biodiversity (the alpine meadows and pastures resulting from deforestation). It can also prove catastrophic: the exploitation of white coal in the Alps, for example, has seriously degraded rivers and the ecosystems associated with them due to low residual flows, bed clogging problems and strong flow variations.
To decarbonize their activities, our companies are turning to all-electric. But, while the effects of global warming are felt more strongly and more quickly in the mountains than elsewhere, it is paradoxically the latter which whets the appetites of energy specialists. Supported by the Confederation, they are planning massive “offensives” in the fields of photovoltaics and hydroelectricity. This deployment will undoubtedly have a huge impact on an already fragile and changing landscape. We can regret this, and say that a new nuclear power plant could avoid sacrificing our last “wild” spaces.
We can also bet on a new approach. Do not simply install technical objects, such as photovoltaic panels, in an environment fantasized as pristine, but on the contrary make these energy interventions real landscape projects, as advocated by the architect Alessandra Scognamiglio.
As in agriculture, where it is possible to develop synergies between food and energy production. In a field, the exogenous structure of a photovoltaic panel can thus be transformed into a canopy, reducing the risks linked to heat and frost, or even irrigation needs.
-Creative and intelligent solutions exist. They deserve to be given time to develop. And for this the Confederation would do better to consider its solar strategy in terms of planning than of financing. The Solar Express photovoltaic offensive, with its appearance of a gold rush, unfortunately gives priority to those who draw first, and not to those who will bet on time and reflection.
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