Energy Resources: SwitzerlandElectricity Production:Hydroelectric and nuclear energy account for 95% of Switzerland's electricity production, with 56% of electricity production coming from hydroelectric power and the 39% from nuclear. Hydroelectric energy, obtained from the energy produced by the movement of water, is widely used in Switzerland due to the country's topography and high levels of precipitation. There are 556 hydroelectric power plants in Switzerland and most hydroelectric production comes from mountainous cantons such as Grisons and Uri. The main component of a hydroelectric power plant is a dam that holds water back, creating a reservoir. The water in the tank has potential energy, which turns into kinetic energy as it flows through the intake and penstock. The water then hits the turbine, spinning its blades, which are connected to the generator, where a series of magnets begin to rotate past the copper coils, producing alternating currents through the induced movement of electrons. The current is then converted to a higher voltage by transformers, after which it flows through power lines. Nuclear energy involves the use of exothermic nuclear procedures to create electricity. Switzerland has a total of 4 nuclear power plants with 5 operational reactors. Nuclear power plants generate electricity through nuclear fission with uranium-235 atoms. The process involves a free neutron hitting a U-235 atom; making it unstable and causing it to split into two nuclei, which also emit neutrons that hit other nuclei creating a chain reaction. This releases heat that heats the water, turning it into pressurized steam, which in turn drives a turbine generator that creates electricity. To maintain this chain reaction, the moderators (which...... half of the document ......Works Cited• http://www.bfe.admin.ch/themen/00490/00491/?lang= it• http://www.swissgrid.ch/swissgrid/it/home/reliability/energy_sources.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropower• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/ central-idroelettrica.htm• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power• http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power2.htm• http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/nuclear/ problems• http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/issues/nuclear-energy-&-waste/nuclear-energy-fact-sheet.php• http://www.technologystudent.com/energy1/hydr2.htm• http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/solar-cell.htm• http://www.technologystudent.com/energy1/solar7.htm• http://www.ecovillage.org.in/ecopedia/alternate-energy/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-biogas/• https://www1 .eere.energy.gov/wind/wind_ad.html