Driven by a desire to push the boundaries of what is possible, both technologically and humanly, André Borschberg is an entrepreneur whose passion for exploration is matched only by his determination to drive economic, environmental and spiritual growth.

When I was asked to sponsor the EnergyPier initiative, which aims to install power stations on motorways to generate green electricity on a large scale, I immediately agreed. On the one hand, I have always been drawn to highly innovative projects, and on the other, I am convinced that we must utilise all available economic options to accelerate the growth of renewable energy production.

Issues relating to climate change and reducing our carbon footprint are now at the heart of current affairs, fuelling articles, programmes and debates, and even controversies. For me, this book is not just another contribution to the media clamour, but rather a powerful incentive to take action. And to do so quickly.

This project reflects a typical entrepreneurial approach, combining vision and reflection with a tenacious drive to implement and a total commitment to the cause.

The subject chosen by Laurent Jospin and his team is ambitious: nothing less than replacing nuclear energy, and making a substantial contribution to phasing out coal, with genuine renewable energies – the sun and the wind – to secure the future of an economic and social model that suits us.

The concept is innovative, and behind an original industrial approach, one senses the will and the capacity to implement it.

As always, the challenge now is to rally decision-makers and funders. This is a difficult part of the task, which reminds me of a similar journey in our own projects. Drawing a parallel with the entrepreneurial spirit that drove past generations to build all our dams and thus accelerate hydroelectric power generation should help to convince and reassure them.

The strength of an entrepreneur lies in staying the course despite the challenges, and turning obstacles into opportunities. So, courage to the whole team: with the right spirit, the enterprise always triumphs in the end.

It is to be hoped that reading this book* will help raise awareness that solutions to the energy transition do exist, and that it is time to mobilise all our resources to put them into practice.

*White Paper: EnergyPier

Dominique Bourg is a professor at the Faculty of Geosciences and the Environment at the University of Lausanne.

The author of numerous books and papers and holder of two doctorates, Bourg is a world-renowned specialist in the environment, global change and sustainable development.

What will our energy consumption be, in terms of both quantity and quality, in 30 years’ time?

It is impossible to say with any precision, especially as this will depend in part on decisions that have not yet been taken.

The only certainty is the constraints that weigh on us now and will continue to do so: the need, for climate reasons, to drastically and rapidly reduce our use of carbon-based energy sources; the increasing pressure on oil resources; and the very high probability that we will be unable to meet current energy demand – and its expected growth – in a carbon-free manner.

In these circumstances, solar motorways, despite the fact that they will struggle to win over critics on aesthetic and landscape grounds, enrich an emerging energy toolkit.

As such, they deserve the full attention of policymakers and users.

Philippe Thalmann is a professor of environmental economics at EPFL and is firmly committed to supporting Switzerland’s climate policy.

Following numerous rounds of international negotiations, and in particular those leading to the Paris Agreement in 2015, the Federal Council decided in 2019 to set a target of reducing Switzerland’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. From the scientific community’s perspective, this is the minimum required for our country to play its part in stabilising the climate.

As this target must be achieved without sacrificing our standard of living or our economy, fossil fuels must be replaced by renewable energy sources.

This requires a large-scale energy transition.

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy has been tasked with developing scenarios for this energy system transition that are compatible with the long-term climate goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, whilst ensuring a secure energy supply. It published its Energy Outlook 2050+ (EO 2050+) in November 2020. The various scenarios, known as "Net Zero" (ZERO), differ in their mix of technologies and the varying rates of development of renewable energy in the electricity sector.

What stands out in these scenarios is the surge in photovoltaic generation, from 2.2 TWh in 2019 to 33.6 TWh in 2050 in the central scenario.

This source of electricity, which accounted for 3.4% of national electricity consumption in 2019, is expected to account for 40% by 2050. It is only in a variant that envisages a massive push for synthetic gases that we might be able to make do with 20 TWh of photovoltaic power in 2050, which still requires a tenfold increase in production.

Where will the 35 GW of photovoltaic generation capacity required for the central scenario be installed, in addition to the 2.5 GW already in place?

The PE 2050+ reports published to date are silent on this point, but it seems clear that all suitable surfaces will have to be utilised.

Priority will be given to already built-up areas, in order to limit the impact on the landscape.

In this sense, the plan to cover sections of motorway with photovoltaic panels appears to be both entirely necessary and timely.