In a secluded spot in the Swiss Alps, clean energy is being tapped to provide for households elsewhere.

After six years of exploratory work, Romande Energie, an electricity distributor based in Switzerland, has embarked on the first part of its floating solar project in Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Switzerland.

The floating solar panel station (above) consists of 36 floating barges on the Lac des Toules, an alpine reservoir lake. The station has 2,240 sq m of solar cells targeting to deliver 800,000kwh a year, the annual power consumption of about 220 households.

As the lake - a dammed construction - sits at 1,810m above sea level, extreme weather conditions are to be expected.

However, the company claims the stronger UV rays and reflections from the surrounding snow mean that the panels can produce up to 50 per cent more energy than a similar installation on low-lying land.