A wall of solar panels has been erected on the lake Muttsee dam in Switzerland as the landlocked country seeks to maximize its production of clean energy during the winter.
The dam on Lake Muttsee—the highest in Europe at 2,500 meters above sea level—now houses nearly 5,000 solar panels, making it the largest alpine solar system in the country.
The project, called AlpinSolar, is implemented by the energy company Axpo, the supermarket chain Denner and the utility company IWB – all Swiss companies. Denner has entered into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with AlpinSolar, the first of its kind in the country.
Installation of the 2.2 megawatt facility was completed in 2022, and energy production has already begun. AlpinSolar, which stretches for almost a kilometer, will produce 3.3 GWh of electricity per year – enough to power 700 households.
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Much of the electricity will be generated in winter – the lake is not prone to fog, as it is at a high altitude and the snow reflects sunlight onto the solar panels.
One of the advantages of alpine solar power plants is that in winter they produce up to three times more electricity than similar installations in the middle lane. Solar cells love the cold and have higher performance at lower temperatures,” says Jeanette Schrantz, Head of Renewable Energy Communications at Axpo.
Peak performance from AlpinSolar is indeed expected in February and March, but overall solar output should be relatively balanced throughout the year.
The project uses 4,872 double-sided double-glazed solar modules from the Swiss manufacturer Megasol. The 40 mm frame of the modules is designed to withstand the expected snow load.
Axpo says it plans to build 4,200 solar projects in Switzerland by 2030. Switzerland’s government is also promoting solar energy — last year, the federal parliament amended the country’s Energy Act to speed up the approval process for new solar power plants that produce significant amounts of energy during the winter months.
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Source: Electrek, Reuters
