Anti-nuclear hike Goesgen, Switzerland 24 May (image, Herbi Ditl on flickr)

Solothurn, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – More than 4,000 people gathered in Goesgen, canton Solothurn, in northern Switzerland Monday, for a peaceful protest against the continuing development of nuclear energy in the country. The protest had participants from 83 groups in Switzerland, France, Germany and Austria. One of their key points was that switzerland’s nuclear power plans are preventing the rapid development of alternative energy programmes.

Links to other sites: Greenpeace (Fre), RSR (Fre)

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva’s Services Industriels de Geneve (SIG) announced a CHF300 million investment in six wind farms along the Jura mountains in four cantons. The project is expected to provide 240 Gw of power by 2015, the utilities group announced (Fre) 2 July: enough to power 70,000 homes.

SIG will partner with REnInvest SA, a Ticino-based consultant in renewable energy. Geneva produces only 25 percent of its own energy and is thus dependent on the market for its needs.