Madrisa Solar is the first alpine solar power plant to produce electricity
Keystone-SDA
The Madrisa Solar photovoltaic plant has become the first Swiss Alpine solar power plant to feed electricity into the grid, according to energy company Repower.
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Madrisa is scheduled to be fully commissioned by the end of 2027.
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Around 15% of the planned plant in Prättigau is currently feeding electricity into the grid, as Repower announced on Wednesday. So far, 500 solar panels have been anchored in the ground and 3,000 solar modules have been installed. “This makes Madrisa Solar the first alpine solar plant to be connected to the grid as part of the Solarexpress programme,” explained the energy company.
The Alpine solar plant above Klosters in canton Graubünden was built by Madrisa Solar. Repower, Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich (EKZ) and the municipality of Klosters each hold a one-third stake in the company. The electricity produced on Madrisa is used by EKZ and locally for the operation of the Klosters-Madrisa mountain railway.
Madrisa Solar is located at around 2,000 metres above sea level and, according to the press release, is designed for high winter power generation. When completed, the solar power plant will produce 17 GWh per year, over 40% of which will be generated in the winter months. The total investment amounts to CHF70 million.
Two other large Alpine solar plants are currently being built in Graubünden as part of the federal government’s Solar Express programme: NalpSolar by Axpo and SedrunSolar by Energia Alpina. Both are located in the municipality of Tujetsch in the Surselva.
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Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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