The operator of the Great St. Bernard road tunnel has announced a CHF 2 million solar-power programme that will see 1,000 photovoltaic panels fitted on the Swiss approach road between late-2026 and 2027. A first tranche covering 3,000 m² is due to go live before the end of this year, while the remaining 4,000 m² should be commissioned over the course of next year. When complete, the alpine array will generate around 450 MWh of electricity a year—roughly half of the tunnel’s annual consumption for lighting, ventilation and safety systems. The cross-border tunnel is a strategic freight and passenger artery between the Swiss canton of Valais and Italy’s Aosta Valley. Reducing the site’s dependence on grid electricity is expected to cut operating costs and hedge the tunnel company against winter-price spikes that have plagued alpine transit routes since 2022. The project builds on a smaller pilot that ran from 2022-2025 and complements an existing micro-hydroelectric unit inside the tunnel complex. From a mobility perspective the move is symbolically important. European road-infrastructure managers are under growing pressure to green their own footprints as airlines, logistics providers and multinational corporates set Scope-3 emission targets. By producing renewable power in-house, Tunnel du Grand-St-Bernard SA says it will be able to offer “carbon-reduced” passages to trucking customers—a selling point for just-in-time supply chains that transit the corridor to reach markets in northern Italy. For business travellers, the installation works are scheduled outside peak holiday periods and no closures of the tunnel bore are foreseen. Minor daytime lane shifts on the Swiss access road will be sign-posted, but traffic capacity will be maintained thanks to a rolling construction zone. Companies that rely on time-critical deliveries across the Valais–Aosta axis should nevertheless monitor the operator’s website for short-notice maintenance windows once panel wiring begins in spring 2027.
Source: SWI swissinfo.ch
