High-altitude Swiss solar project to power supermarket chain

Italian Wine Brands SpA

21/01/2021 13:00

ZURICH, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Swiss energy group Axpo and
partner IWB will develop a 2.2 megawatt solar plant high in the
Alps and sell the power to supermarket chain Denner in a 20-year
deal that makes more environmental than financial sense, the
partners said on Thursday.
    The Muttsee site at a dam 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high in
the Alps will be the largest alpine solar plant in Switzerland,
with nearly 5,000 solar modules producing around 3.3 million
kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
    "Unfortunately, the lack of a regulatory framework means
that this type of plant is barely economically feasible, as is
the case with this project. Nevertheless, we have chosen to
carry out this flagship project with our exceptional partners to
make a statement and push Switzerland's energy transformation a
step further," Axpo Chief Executive Christoph Brand said.
    IWB, the energy supplier for the canton of Basel-City, has a
49% stake in the project.
    The alpine location will let the Muttsee plant deliver half 
its production during the colder half of the year, when sunlight
is generally in short supply in Switzerland. Solar plants at
lower elevations produce only around a quarter of their
electricity during this half of the year. 
    The solar plant will be commissioned in summer 2021.

 (Reporting by Michael Shields; editing by David Evans)
 ((Michael.Shields@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 3630; Reuters
Messaging: michael.shields.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))