The actual non-AI article about the dam: https://www.axpo.com/ch/en/energy/generation-and-distribution/solar-power/alpinsolar.html
Here are some images of the dam sourced from Axpo encoded from 117MiB to 626 KiB (720p AVIF)
Images
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
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Why the fuck would everyone say solar doesn't make sense up where it's cold and clear where anyone who knows anything about the topic knows that solar is most efficient?
It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
- Upton Sinclair
- Michael Scott
Quite a dam advancement.
An example of some great dam thinking by a group of smart dam people.
Stupid question, never wondered how dams are constructed (and location chosen): Isn't there a risk of them being flooded, like in an emergency dump scenario?
Dams normaly have a specificly designed spillway as it could otherwise be VERY dangerus (the water removeing dirt at its base , possably leading to dam failure)
I doubt the solar panels were put on it tho
If water is just overflowing it entirely like a glass of water then shits so fucked that the solar panels just dont matter
Absolutely! They have spillways for this scenario. Practical Engineering on YouTube has a few videos on spillways and a spillway failure.
I have a very serious issue with this!
What about the profits for coal companies! How are they supposed to make money! What if they go out of business!
WON'T SOMEBODY THINK ABOUT COAL INDUSTRY PROFITS!
They're going to cool off the sun if they aren't careful. /s
I seriously used to work with a guy who thought wind turbines might have negative impact on the environment because it was "taking the wind".
The energy output by a wind turbine has to come from somewhere. It is taking it from the wind.
Weeeeeeelllllll
So, like, not completely wrong?
Just out of curiosity, did you try to explain to him that it's the wind moving the turbine?
Some of the wind is converted into electricity, so the wind is reduced. Might not be a lot, but it could have some kind of an impact.
Switzerland is one of the only countries where it makes any sense to do this kind of nonsense because they're already almost completely on renewable power. I shudder to think of how high the installation cost per watt is when you need rope access teams drilling into concrete. Some IRATA certified electrician probably bought a vacation home with the money from just this project.
'wow the panels are 50% more efficient during winter, and it only cost 1000% more to install compared to a conventional rooftop'
*Ok I checked, it cost about 3.6 CHF per nameplate watt. Roughly double residential rooftop solar in Switzerland, which itself is again about double what a ground mount array costs. So still bad, not nearly as bad as I thought. This also is only the original install cost. Apparently they've had to do significant repairs, including replacing 270 panels, because of snow and ice damage. From the bit of extra research I did on this I think the primary purpose of this install was to ease the path to getting more alpine solar installation approved. Because this definitely isn't economically viable and I don't think they expected it to be. But there is potential for economically viable alpine solar farms if they can get approval for development.
**By the way this article and the image for it are AI slop, the actual install is slightly less absurd than the article makes it look.
::: spoiler the actual dam
The install generates 3x more power than an equivalent solar farm at lower altitude during the winter months, but costs 4x more to build. Doesn't really add up. For a smaller investment you could have the same amount of winter production and 3x as much production during the other 3/4 of the year.
this comment should be at the top. My dumbass didn't realize this was an AI image
I encoded the actual images down in another comment
And? Its new information for future construction, highlights the importance of doing this along with any repairs or new builds where you're doing some of that work anyway.
Confirms the energy is there.
And its literally on a damn, so storing excess with pumped hydro is can be done with like 0 transmission inefficiency.
'confirms the energy is there' buddy it's the sun, we already know it's there. It doesn't make sense to install capacity at 12 euros per watt when you can install capacity for 1 euro per watt or whatever the numbers actually are. I would be shocked if transmission losses are anywhere even close to cost efficiency losses.
The swiss do this sort of thing because they have the money to burn and place a high emphasis on aesthetics. They probably think this is less of an eyesore than ground mount so that makes it worth it.
My poibt is its a good demonstration case.
Yeah people and the media have this weird fascination with putting solar panels in new places. I don’t think finding locations to add them is as big of an issue for how much people seem to care and want to “solve” it.
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I imagine they had to do a lot of calculations in order to be sure this installation would not compromise the dam. But if this could be applied in other locations, it could be extremely benificial.
Honestly, I think it wouldn't be a problem in any dam. I'm sure they made all the required studies but dams are so thick and made to withstand such great forces that a couple of solar panels bolted on would be negligible. I bet 10cm of water rise would be a way bigger load
Especially considering anything ~~attracted~~ attached to the dam is going to add a vertical force that could do more to help with the lateral force from the water than it would do to bring the dam closer to collapse, though probably does closer to nothing to the overall physics of the dam.
Edit: Fixed a word as I don't think the existence of damphiles has any effect on the performance of dams until they start drilling/punching holes in them.
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