this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
1390 points (99.0% liked)

Technology

86160 readers
3884 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
1390
Switzerland bolted 5,000 solar panels onto a dam wall 8,000 feet up in the freezing Alps. The plant now makes three times more winter power than any farm down in the valleys (www.ecoportal.net)
submitted 2 days ago by UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
192 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Up on the dam, almost everything that looks like a problem becomes an advantage.

The plant sits above the fog line, in thin, clear air that lets far more sunlight through.

The higher you go, the stronger and cleaner the sunlight becomes.

Cold actually helps, because solar panels work more efficiently when they are not baking in heat.

And then there is the snow, which acts like a giant mirror, bouncing extra light up onto the panels from below.

Scientists call it the albedo effect, and it can lift a mountain plant’s output well beyond anything possible in the valley.

A test site at a similar height recorded yearly output far above a typical Swiss plant.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I would think solar would be even more efficient high up in mountains.

Colder temperatures mean they'd stay cooler, produce more power, and for longer.. and they are higher up in the air, so amount of photons hitting the panels has to be higher than at sea level, too, further increasing power generation.

At least thats what I'd assume, applying some common sense and a little educated guessing.

[–] schnapsman@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago

I read the German source article someone else posted and you're spot on. The thinner air is the main advantage for the reason you mentioned. But apparently snow-reflected light off the surrounding peaks is a significant factor as well. I find that interesting.