Just days after announcing a 9 MW alpine solar plant in the Municipality of Oberiberg, Swiss utility Axpo has announced yet another alpine project with close to 15 MW installed capacity in the Canton of Graubünden as part of the company's 'solar offensive'.
The ground mounted solar power plant is proposed to be located in the Municipality of Ilanz/Glion region to generate around 22 GWh clean electricity annually, a significant amount of which will be produced in cold winter months.
Construction on the 15 MW alpine project is currently scheduled to begin in spring 2025 and partial commissioning in late-2025.
Axpo says it will set new standards in combined space usage with the 15 MW project to ensure nature and leisure activities can coexist. A corridor for the ski slope from the Crap Masegn mountain station to Ladir will continue to run through the area on the Alp da Schnaus. A hiking and biking route is also planned in the project while the land will continue to be used as pasture land even after the project is online.
The municipality expects the Ovra Solara Camplauns project to deliver long-term income while contributing to sustainable energy security of the country. However, it will wait for a positive vote from the local populace to give the proposed project a green signal to come up in an area of some 200,000 m2. The voting should be done over the next few months.
Just recently, the denizens of Valais Canton voted against large solar power projects in the alpine region.
Axpo's recently announced 9 MW alpine solar power plant is also awaiting vote from both the Municipality of Oberiberg and the landowner Genossame Schwyz (see High-Altitude Agrivoltaic Solar Plant In Switzerland).
According to an EPFL study, solar and wind energy in the alpine region can help Switzerland become carbon neutral and energy self-sufficient (see EPFL Study Recommends Solar & Wind In Swiss Alps).