Work has started on the Swiss Madrisa Solar project, a 12 MW alpine PV plant located at an altitude of 2,000 m near a ski resort in the village of Klosters. It is part of the Solar Express initiative designed to boost domestic winter energy production.
Work has started on the 12 MW Madrisa Solar project in Switzerland, an alpine PV plant at an altitude of 2,000 m near a ski and winter sports resort above the village of Klosters. The south-facing PV plant is expected to produce 17 GWh annually when the final phase of the project is completed, a milestone scheduled for the end of 2027.
The project contractor is Madrisa Solar AG, an equally owned joint venture between the municipality of Klosters and two utility companies, Elektrizitätswerke Zürich (EKZ) and Repower AG.
According to Planeco, the Basel-based company responsible for installing the solar PV system, the factory has 19,000 solar panels and 100 inverters, as well as powerful surge arresters with lightning protection.
The 580 W panels are supplied by the German manufacturer Axitec. “The supplier of the inverters has not yet been decided. They will certainly be large string inverters, between 100 and 125 kVA,” says Christian Carpaij, CEO of Planeco and manager of the engineering division. pv magazine.
The plant, located 2,000 meters above sea level, will cost CHF 70 million ($76.75 million) and produce 17 GWh of electricity annually, EKZ said in a press release. It will be connected to a transformer station at the nearby Madrisa ski station.
The facility will be built in phases and completed by the end of 2027. “The biggest challenge is the short alpine season for safe installation conditions. It requires accurate planning and efficient cooperation of all professionals and suppliers. In addition, there is the deadline that requires that at least 10% of the power must be connected to the grid by the end of 2025 in order to apply for financing,” said Carpaij, referring to the requirement set in the Swiss Solar Express law. which promotes the deployment of alpine PV to strengthen the distribution network by 2030.
Other project partners include Fanzun AG, which provides architecture, engineering and consulting, Amstein Walthert, construction and engineering, Vetsch Klosters AG, logistics and foundation construction, Jörimann Stahlbau AG, structural steel, and Zendra AG, alpine PV engineering.
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