In 2015, Switzerland consumed 58 billion kWh of electricity. It exported 43 billion kWh, mainly to Italy, and imported 42 billion kWh, mainly from France, Austria and Germany. Around 35% of the total was produced from nuclear, 59% from hydro, and 6% from other sources, based on 2015 Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE numbers. The […]
Sun powered aircraft Solar Impulse lands in NYC, completing US crossing
Solar Impulse 2, the world’s first solar airplane capable of flying day and night without a drop of fuel, left Lehigh Valley International Airport, Pennsylvania, late yesterday evening and landed at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, early this morning, after circling the Statue of Liberty. André Borschberg, a former Swiss military […]
One day in prison for breaking Swiss rubbish rules
According to Le Matin, a resident of the Swiss town of St-Légier-La Chiesaz, was shocked to receive a letter threatening her with a prison sentence for not putting her paper rubbish in the right place. Speaking to Le Matin she said “I received a penalty notice by registered post sentencing me to a 150 franc fine, or a day in […]
World’s longest train tunnel opens in Switzerland
The 57-kilometre-long Gotthard base rail tunnel was officially opened on 1 June 2016. It is the world’s longest train tunnel, longer than the Channel Tunnel and the Seikan Tunnel in Japan, which links the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokaido. The 200 km/h tunnel journey, which starts in the German-speaking Swiss canton of Uri and […]
Nearly 4 tonnes of rubbish removed from Lake Geneva
20 Minutes. Early figures show nearly 4 tonnes of rubbish were removed from the lake and its shores by volunteers during the 8th edition of the lake cleaning event called Net’Léman. “Net” is short for the French word nettoyer and Léman the local name for Lake Geneva, although some locals at the Geneva end of the […]
Mercury passes in front of the sun today – timing in Switzerland
Today, planet Mercury will pass across the sun. Not everyone will be able to see it. Those in Australia, New Zealand and Japan will miss it. The event occurs 13 to 14 times a century. The last time our solar system’s smallest planet passed between the earth and the sun was in 2006. The next […]
The snow is back. Again.
Some in Switzerland awoke to snow on Sunday morning. The weather service Meteo News is predicting more light snow overnight and on Monday across the Swiss plateau. Speaking to Le Matin, Lionel Peyraud of Météo Suisse said 10 to 17 cm of snow could fall at altitudes above 1,000 m, with 15 cm falling on the […]
Sun powered aircraft Solar Impulse completes Pacific ocean crossing
Solar Impulse 2 left Hawaii on 21 April at 6:15 am local time (UTC-10) and landed at the Moffett Airfield on 23 April at 11:44 pm local time (UTC-7), completing its crossing of the Pacific, using only the power of the sun to drive its four motors, a feat considered impossible by industry experts. The […]
The Patrouille des Glaciers 2016 cancelled
The decision was taken this morning to cancel the last race of this year’s Patrouille des Glaciers, the iconic Swiss ski race between Zermatt and Verbier that takes place every two years. The ski mountaineering race organised by the Swiss Army, in which military and civilian teams compete, consists of four races. This year, the […]
Solar impulse back in the air and bound for the US
Born in Switzerland and now heading from Hawaii to California, Solar Impulse 2 took off early this morning from Kalaeloa in Hawaii, as it continues its round-the-world flight. In silence, the 100% solar-powered aircraft took off across the Pacific at 6:15am Hawaii time (UTC-10) bound for California. The plane belonging to Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, […]
