Zurich – The electricity utility of the city of Zurich (ewz) is planning high-alpine solar plants at the Savognin ski resort and the Splügen-Tambo winter sports area. The Zurich City Council has now given the green light for the development of a preliminary and construction project for the facility near Savognin.
The city-owned electricity company ewz wants to realize two large high-alpine solar plants in the Grisons region. One is to be built on land belonging to the municipality of Surses GR at the Savognin ski resort. Depending on the implementation variant, up to 80 gigawatt hours of solar power could be produced here annually, ewz informs in a statement. According to her, the Zurich City Council has now approved one-time expenditures of 1.7 million Swiss francs for the preparation of a preliminary and construction project.
The second facility is planned on land belonging to the municipality of Rheinwald GR in the Splügen-Tambo winter sports area. Depending on the implementation variant, up to 13 gigawatt hours of solar power are to be realized here. Both plants are planned in areas that are already developed in terms of infrastructure. The areas required for power generation do not belong to any national or local protected area and should, as far as possible, be used simultaneously by alpine farming.
“In terms of PV expansion, we are focusing on properties on city property, Switzerland-wide sites, and high alpine sites,” Michael Baumer, city councilor and head of the Department of Industrial Operations, is quoted as saying in the release. The approval of the project planning costs for ewz’s plans in Rheinwald falls under its responsibility. “The projects in the municipalities of Surses and Rheinwald are important building blocks for expanding domestic renewable energy production and further increasing security of supply in winter,” Baumer says. ce/hs
