The new Swissolar president is Jürg Grossen

Almost unanimously, Jürg Grossen and Gabriela Suter were elected by the Swissolar members as President and Vice-President to the Board of Swissolar on May 28, 2021.

Jürg Grossen takes over from Roger Nordmann, who is stepping down from the presidency after eleven years. During this time, solar energy has grown out of its niche and has been able to position itself as a central pillar of the Swiss energy transition, as the trade association emphasizes. The photovoltaic capacity installed in Switzerland has increased by a factor of 28 during his tenure, and the number of Swissolar members has almost tripled. Swissolar Managing Director David Stickelberger says: "Nordmann's competence and commitment brought the association and the industry forward enormously."

Roger Nordmann said in his farewell speech: "Last year's record expansion in photovoltaics is great. But in order to achieve the energy turnaround, it must be increased by a factor of 4. The prerequisite for this is a Yes to the CO2 law on June 13. Adopting the CO2 law will secure Switzerland's energy supply, create many jobs and increase value creation in Switzerland."

Nordmann emphasizes that demand for workers in the solar industry currently exceeds supply: "People who are losing their jobs because of the pandemic are already finding promising jobs in the solar industry." 

Jürg Grossen, a man of practice

With National Councillor Jürg Grossen, the next important voice in Swiss energy policy is now heading Swissolar. The president of the Green Liberal Party is an ideal candidate for this office.

Grossen is a man of practice: In Frutigen, the co-managing director co-manages the fortunes of three companies in the electrical planning and building technology sector. "In our companies, we also train apprentices. The planning and realization of electrical and solar systems and the use of smart, energy-saving building technology particularly fascinates young people. The energy transition creates the best future prospects for young people," says Jürg Grossen.

Suter for more promotion of women in environmental technology 

In addition to the two previous vice presidents David Galeuchet and Andreas Haller, the Swissolar members elected Gabriela Suter as vice president. The National Councilor (SP) advocates a sustainable energy policy in the National Council's Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy Committee (UREK-N).

Gabriela Suter says: "As Vice President of Swissolar, one of the things I will do is to make professions in construction more attractive to women. I see great, as yet untapped potential for women in energy consulting, planning and installation of environmental technology." 

Launch of the campaign for even more quality

At the end of the General Assembly, Swissolar presented the new advertising campaign for quality label Solarprofis. Only companies that meet the strict criteria set by Swissolar receive this label and are listed in the Solarprofis directory, as the trade association writes. In this way, Swissolar creates orientation and transparency for clients with regard to quality in the planning and installation of solar systems. The aim of the advertising campaign is to increase awareness of Solarprofis among building owners and specialists, so that they can easily and quickly find reliable and qualified solar companies.

Source: Swissolar