Switzerland is set to become home to a 2.2 MW solar power plant to be built on the Muttsee Dam which will make it the 'largest' alpine solar plant in the country, claim 2 local energy suppliers Axpo and IWB. To be developed sans state subsidies, the project has secured discount supermarket chain Denner as the offtaker for a 20-year period.
The AlpinSolar Cooperative Project has IWB as 49% stakeholder with its subsidiary Planeco constructing the plant. It will supply 'plenty' of renewable electricity – around 3.3 million kWh annually to be precise – with the help of almost 5,000 solar modules, especially in winters because of its high altitude location. Project will be constructed 2,500 metres above sea level on the Muttsee Dam, part of the Limmern pumped storage plant.
Compared to AlpinSolar, solar power plants at a lower altitude, Axpo says, only produce around a quarter of their electricity production during winters.
"Unfortunately, the lack of a regulatory framework means that this type of plant is barely economically feasible, as is the case with this project. Nevertheless, we have chosen to carry out this flagship project with our exceptional partners to make a statement and push Switzerland's energy transformation a step further," said Axpo CEO Christoph Brand, who added, "We also see the project as an important contribution to the discussion around the forthcoming legislative amendment."
Axpo had secured clearance from local authorities for the project in 2020 while aiming to have it accorded Lighthouse Project status from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) (see Axpo Secures Permit For Alpine Solar Plant).
Soon after Axpo announced the AlpinSolar project in 2020, municipal electric utility EWZ said it will construct a 410 kW solar project at Albigna Dam in Bergell, Switzerland (see Swiss Municipal Electric Utility Planning Alpine Solar Plant).
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