Large-scale floating solar park to be constructed in Swiss Alps

• Swiss power utility Romande Energie Holding SA (SWX: HREN) is planning to build a large-scale floating solar system on a reservoir in the Alps after an effective demonstration project at the site.

The new solar setup will certainly be established on Toules Lake 1,800 m (5,906 ft) above sea level with a capacity to produce 22 GWh of power each year, Romande Energie claimed last week. This output represents the typical electrical energy consumption of more than 6,200 houses.

Planned for 2024-2028, the large-scale solar park in the canton of Valais need to cover a little bit greater than a third of the surface area of the lake.

The prepare for the project comes about there years after Romande Energie introduced a pilot floating solar system on an area of 2,240 sq m on the surface of the lake. The installment consists of double-sided solar modules set up on 35 floating structures that are attached to the bottom of the lake via weights. The facility is designed to hold up against extreme conditions such as snow, ice, winds of up to 120 km/h as well as temperature levels varying from -25 ° C to

30 ° C. Romande Energie kept in mind that the demonstration plant's ordinary manufacturing is 1,400 kWh per kWp set up which represents a gain of 30% as contrasted to typical solar power manufacturing in the bog. The first estimates were for 1,800 kWh per kWp mounted.

In a proposal to secure its power supply in winter months, Switzerland last year eased the rules for the setup of solar plants in the alpine region.