The global imperative to transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources has been recognized universally, but the path to achieving this transformation remains fraught with complex challenges. While technological advancements in solar and energy storage systems have accelerated rapidly in recent years, the critical bottleneck has shifted toward practical implementation and societal integration. Researchers from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have introduced an innovative and socially equitable framework to fast-track this energy transition: the Solar Basic Service. This concept envisions democratizing access to solar power by allocating every individual a personal solar energy quota, effectively redefining the relationship between citizens and sustainable energy production.
At the core of the Solar Basic Service model lies a simple yet revolutionary premise: provide each person with a guaranteed solar power allocation of 500 watts, which corresponds annually to about 4,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This allocation would be publicly financed and function as a foundational energy provision, akin to existing universal services like roads, education, or water utilities. By establishing solar power as a baseline right, the model aims to dismantle traditional economic barriers associated with renewable energy adoption, ensuring that homeowners, tenants, and less affluent groups all benefit equitably from the energy transition. Crucially, this proposed quota is tailored to cover the average electricity demand required to replace fossil fuels, at least within Switzerland’s energy consumption profile.
The Solar Basic Service does not imply free, unlimited energy access; instead, it is conceptualized as a baseline supply that is freely available only when solar generation is actually occurring. This design choice intentionally excludes public storage solutions, which represent significant capital expenditure and infrastructure complexity. By eschewing communal battery systems, the framework encourages behavioral shifts where individuals and enterprises adapt consumption patterns to coincide with periods of sunlight—a concept the researchers poetically term the “sunflower society.” This societal adaptation mimics sunflowers’ natural tendency to orient themselves toward the sun, symbolizing a culture aligned with the rhythms of solar availability.
One of the most compelling advantages of omitting large-scale public energy storage is financial. Storage infrastructure dramatically inflates the investment required for a sustainable energy system due to costs of battery technologies, maintenance, and scaling challenges. By positioning energy storage as a supplementary, privately funded convenience rather than a foundation, the Solar Basic Service model reduces upfront public expenditure and motivates market-driven innovation in storage solutions. Private investments in batteries or alternative storage technologies can flourish alongside the guaranteed solar baseline, enabling a layered and resilient renewable energy ecosystem.
In practical quantification, implementing this model in Switzerland would necessitate installing solar panels amounting to about 21 square meters per individual, covering roughly one-third of all rooftops nationally. Expanding beyond rooftops to underutilized spaces like parking lots, noise barriers, and rights-of-way along highways and railways maximizes the deployment footprint while mitigating land use conflicts. The emphasis is on utilizing existing developed surfaces to avoid new land conversion, preserving natural ecosystems while rapidly increasing photovoltaic capacity. Switzerland’s diverse landscape is well-suited for such decentralization, allowing local energy generation to blend harmoniously with urban and suburban environments. This scalability and flexibility are among photovoltaics’ greatest technical benefits, as installations require minimal maintenance and have negligible environmental externalities such as noise or visual pollution.
Financing the envisioned rollout would demand an aggregate of approximately 58 billion Swiss francs over a five-year span, translating to about 1% of Switzerland’s gross domestic product during this interval. This magnitude of investment correlates with budget scales for infrastructure projects like road construction or is roughly twice the country’s annual military expenditure. Despite the high upfront costs, the financial model forecasts a break-even point within six to seven years post-completion, driven primarily by the avoided costs of fossil fuel imports. Presently, Swiss consumers allocate roughly 20 billion Swiss francs lifetime expenditure on fossil fuels annually. By substituting this with clean solar electricity, the Solar Basic Service could eradicate this fossil fuel dependency, yielding both climate and economic benefits.
The sustainability of the energy transition under this model also hinges on securing skilled labor and material inputs. Empa researchers have identified that about 50,000 workers would be required to complete the nationwide solar infrastructure within five years. Fortunately, much of the installation labor does not demand advanced technical expertise; comprehensive on-the-job training over a few weeks is sufficient for most roles. Solar installation “camps” and vocational programs are already emerging to meet these labor demands, and innovative proposals such as a “solar year” could engage youth in national energy efforts, providing socially meaningful alternatives to traditional civil or military service. Moreover, investing in solar infrastructure represents a form of economic localization, as installation services and associated contracts predominantly benefit the Swiss economy rather than channeling funds abroad for fossil fuels.
Materials supply represents another critical axis of challenge and opportunity. While silicon—the primary semiconductor material used in photovoltaic cells—is abundantly available globally, the supply chains for critical metals such as silver, tin, and aluminum warrant careful management. Silver is indispensable in current photovoltaic conductor technology but is surprisingly abundant in unconventional reserves; empirical estimates indicate that mere household silver stockpiles exceed the quantity needed for widespread solar deployment. Concurrently, ongoing technological innovation aims to reduce the use of tin and aluminum dramatically, alongside research into silver substitutes, potentially easing resource constraints further. Strategically, relocating photovoltaic manufacturing facilities closer to European consumers could diminish supply chain risks and bolster local industry, reducing reliance on predominant producers in China and enhancing regional energy security.
The Solar Basic Service concept is not rigid; rather, it offers a flexible framework capable of adaptation to varying regional contexts and evolving technologies. Its implementation demands a transparent and inclusive public discourse to navigate social, economic, and political complexities inherent in a system-wide paradigm shift. One of the foremost concerns highlighted by the researchers is the prevention of wasteful energy consumption. Providing free solar energy during generation peaks could inadvertently encourage inefficient use patterns if not coupled with targeted educational and policy measures. Furthermore, the phased elimination of fossil fuels must proceed in tandem with the establishment of the solar baseline to ensure synergy and avoid transitional energy gaps.
Beyond immediate substitution effects, the Solar Basic Service could catalyze broader renewable energy investments, especially in complementary sources such as wind and hydropower that generate electricity under different conditions. This diversified portfolio approach would enhance grid resilience and supply stability. From a systemic perspective, increasing solar capacity beyond the baseline is worthwhile, as it creates surplus electricity during off-peak periods or overcast days. These surpluses open avenues for innovative climate-positive applications, notably carbon dioxide removal technologies. Excess electricity could power atmospheric CO₂ capture processes, converting greenhouse gases into stable, carbon-binding materials, thereby actively reversing the effects of historic emissions. This research aligns closely with Empa’s pioneering “Mining the Atmosphere” initiative, which explores these sophisticated climate engineering techniques.
Technological maturity, economic feasibility, and social equity converge within the Solar Basic Service paradigm, positioning it as a promising prototype for accelerated energy transition. Its emphasis on universality, behavioral adaptation, and decentralized generation embodies a novel synthesis that addresses long-standing barriers to renewable proliferation. As governments, industries, and citizens worldwide grapple with the urgency of climate action, this Swiss model underscores the importance of reimagining energy access as a communal right anchored in sustainable, transparent, and scalable infrastructure. Ultimately, by transforming solar power from a distributed luxury into a guaranteed baseline service, societies can collectively harness the sun’s indispensable energy, empowering a fair and decisive leap toward a net-zero future.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Solar basic service—an idea for just acceleration of the energy transition
News Publication Date: 2-Apr-2025
Web References:
- Progress in Energy journal link
- Swiss road transport infrastructure statistics
- Swiss military expenditure data
- Empa Mining the Atmosphere initiative
References: Empa study published in Progress in Energy, DOI: 10.1088/2516-1083/adc370
Image Credits: Empa
Keywords: Solar Basic Service, Energy Transition, Renewable Energy, Photovoltaics, Solar Power Quota, Decentralized Energy, Public Energy Infrastructure, Climate Change Mitigation, Behavioral Adaptation, Energy Storage, Sustainable Development, Switzerland
