Alpiq plans 18MW vertical bifacial PV plant in the Swiss Alps

From pv magazine France

Swiss renewable energy producer Alpiq has announced it will build an 18MW vertical, bifacial solar plant in the municipality of Gondo-
Zwischbergen, in Switzerland's canton of Valais, at an altitude of between 2,000 and 2,200 meters above sea level.

The Gondosolar project will be built with 4,500 bifacial modules on a 10-hectare surface and will be able to generate around 23.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

The project is expected to require an investment of CHF42 million ($45.5 million) and, due to the project design, to produce around twice as much electricity per square meter as a comparable facility on the Swiss plateau, the company said. “In addition, 55% of its electricity is produced in winter and Gondosolar produces four times as much winter electricity per area as a PV installation in the lowlands,” it further explained.

Alpiq said it is now in the process of securing approval and funding for the project and that construction works should be finalized within three years from the start of construction.

The project was initiated by Renato Jordan, a landowner in possession of the plot of land at the Alpjerung location where the plant should be deployed. “A comprehensive feasibility study ultimately concludes that the project is not only environmentally and technically feasible but also economically viable, provided that the federal parliament enacts the subsidy model and Gondosolar receives the maximum subsidy of 60%,” Alpiq said.

The plant will be owned and operated by local utility Electrique du Simplon (EES), whose largest shareholder is Alpiq itself.