The Swiss Competence Center for Procurement, Technology and Real Estate (armasuisse Immobilien) is seeking approval to set up one of Switzerland's 1st small wind-solar hybrid systems as a test facility in the country's alpine terrain to test its suitability in the region.
Operating with the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), armasuisse has submitted a planning application for the facility to come up in La Stadera area in Surselva district of Switzerland, above Medel municipality in Grisons canton. The region has been selected for its wind and solar power potential.
Preparatory work for the installation of a prototype by the Swiss system supplier is scheduled for autumn 2022, while the actual test system with hybrid arrangement will be installed and test operation started in autumn 2023. It will comprise a small wind turbine with bifacial solar panels with expected energy yield for the wind turbine being around 27 MWh annually.
Once installed, data will be collected from the system between autumn 2023 to the end of 2024 for evaluation.
"The aim of the DDPS and its partners from Swiss business and research is to examine the implementation of this sustainably generated energy with a view to future use by the federal government," stated armasuisse.
According to an EPFL study from 2021, Switzerland's Alpine region can host solar and wind energy to help the country become carbon neutral and energy self-sufficient (see EPFL Study Recommends Solar & Wind In Swiss Alps).
Efforts are already underway for solar installations in the terrain. A 2.2 MW solar system is currently being constructed by Axpo on the Muttsee dam wall (see Construction Begins On 'Largest' Swiss Alpine PV Plant). In February 2022, Alpiq said it will deploy bifacial solar panels for the largest solar plant in the country with 18 MW capacity as the 'largest' high-alpine PV project in the Alps (see Switzerland's 'Largest' Solar Installation).
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