Alpine solar project to help fill Swiss winter energy gaps

At a dam 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high in the Alps, construction has begun on Switzerland's largest alpine solar plant aimed at helping the small country secure renewable energy throughout the year. The 2.2 megawatt solar plant project, which developers Swiss energy group Axpo and partner IWB have said makes more environmental than financial sense, is part of Swiss plans to plug the gap left by the phase-out of nuclear energy while also aiming to reach net zero in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. "We have a boom mainly in solar (panel installations) for small houses but not much else here in Switzerland," Christian Heierli, project leader at Axpo, told Reuters in an interview.