Swiss electricity generator Alpiq along with Grande Dixence SA and the municipality of Hérémence have announced a new bifacial Alpine solar power plant in Switzerland, at an altitude of 2,800 meters above sea level, with potential to produce 40 GWh to 50 GWh annually, most of which will be generated in winter.
This amount of solar power will be equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of over 11,000 households. "A large proportion of the energy will be produced in winter, a distinct advantage given the growing shortage of electricity supplies at this time of year," stated Alpiq.
The project in the Municipality of Hérémence will be stationed on a quarry used during the construction of the Grande Dixence hydropower dam between 1951 and 1961. One of the reasons behind choosing this spot was to use the dam's existing infrastructure that will be renovated to transport the energy produced by the Alpine solar plant.
Preparation work for the project has already started with initial measurements taken in early December 2022 and over the coming weeks the project partners will construct a measurement and testing system to determine the site's meteorological parameters to estimate the potential for solar power generation.
A construction permit is scheduled to be submitted before the end of 2023. While Alpiq does not specify estimates project capacity in absolute terms, a large part of it is expected to come online by late 2025.
In February 2022, Alpiq had announced an 18 MW solar power plant calling it the largest in the Alpine region at up to 2,200 meters above sea level in the municipality of Gondo-Zwischbergen (see Switzerland's 'Largest' Solar Installation).
Growing concerns about energy security has prompted Swiss government to open up the Alpine terrain for renewable energy generation, starting with a small wind-solar hybrid power plant here in Medel municipality (see Hybrid Small Wind & Solar System In Swiss Alps).
.png?w=50&fm=png){kind=logo}