Construction begins on 12 MW Swiss alpine PV project
Work has begun on the Swiss Madrisa Solar project, a 12 MW alpine PV installation located at an elevation of 2,000 m near a ski resort of the village of Klosters. It is part of the Solar Express initiative designed to boost domestic winter energy production.
January 17, 2025 Valerie Thompson
A rendering of the project Image: Fanzun AG
Work has begun on the 12 MW Madrisa Solar project in Switzerland, an alpine PV plant located at an elevation of 2,000 m near a ski and winter sports area above the village of Klosters. The south-facing PV plant is expected to produce 17 GWh annually when the final stage of the project is complete, 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 utilities, Elektrizitätswerke Zürich (EKZ) and Repower AG.
According to Planeco, the Basel-based company responsible for the installation of the solar PV system, the plant features 19,000 solar panels and 100 inverters, as well as strong lightning protection surge arrester setups.
The 580 W panels are supplied by German manufacturer Axitec. “The supplier of the inverters has not yet been decided. They certainly will be large-sized string inverters, between 100-125 kVA,” Christian Carpaij, Planeco CEO and engineering division manager, told pv magazine.
The plant, located at 2,000 m above sea level, will cost CHF 70 million ($76.75 million) and produce 17 GWh of electricity annually, according to EKZ in a press release. It will be connected to a transformer station at the nearby Madrisa ski station.
The installation will be constructed in stages to be completed by the end of 2027. “The biggest challenge is the short alpine season for safe installation conditions. It demands precise planning and efficient collaboration of all trades and suppliers. In addition, there is the deadline requiring at least 10% of power must be connected to the grid by the end of 2025 in order to be able to apply for funding,” said Carpaij, referring to the requirement set by the Swiss Solar Express law that promotes the deployment of alpine PV to reinforce the distribution network by 2030.
