The first alpine photovoltaic system in Central Switzerland is being realised

With the founding of APV Sidenplangg AG, it is official: the first Alpine solar plant in Central Switzerland is being built in Sidenplangg above the municipality of Spiringen in the canton of Uri. The first part of the plant is scheduled to be commissioned before the end of this year.

After successfully completing both the building permit and tendering procedures, the Uri-based energy service provider energieUri AG and Swiss green energy producer aventron AG jointly founded APV Sidenplangg AG last Friday. The purpose of the company is to build and operate the alpine photovoltaic system for energy production. The commitment of aventron AG is also shared by its co-owners Primeo Energie, Energie Wasser Bern and Stadtwerk Winterthur, who are supporting the project. With this undertaking, the founders of APV Sidenplangg AG are also demonstrating a certain pioneering spirit, as this is a complex energy project with little in the way of empirical data on which to draw.

The Alpine photovoltaic system is being built on a plot of land belonging to the Korporation Uri in Sidenplangg above the municipality of Spiringen. The location is in a landscape already used by avalanche barriers at an altitude between 1,800 and 2,000 metres above sea level in the Schächen valley in Uri and offers numerous advantages: It is already accessible by road and the energy can be fed into the distribution grid via the nearby Ratzi transformer station. With a plant capacity of around 8 megawatts, some 12.5 gigawatt hours of renewable energy are to be produced annually over an area of 10.7 hectares – this corresponds to the annual consumption of around 2,600 households. energieUri AG will be responsible for operation and maintenance as well as energy management, which will generate recurring added value for Uri every year.

High regional added value
«The investment costs amount to around 40 million francs, of which around 75 per cent – i.e. approximately 30 million francs – will remain in Uri as orders for local companies. Added to this are annual taxes and duties of over CHF 100,000, split between the municipality of Spiringen, the corporation of Uri and the canton of Uri», says Werner Jauch, CEO of energieUri, about the added value for the region, adding: ’With this project, however, we are not only creating tangible added value, but also making a further contribution to the expansion of renewable energies beyond the borders of the canton.’ In this context, the production of electricity in winter is particularly important. Alpine photovoltaic systems are ideal for this purpose, as they generate around three times as much electricity in winter as PV systems on flat-land roofs.

Eric Wagner, CEO of aventron AG, says: ‘We already have a good working relationship with energieUri at the Pa-langgenbach hydroelectric power station. We are delighted to be implementing one of the first Alpine solar plants together with our trusted partner.’ He emphasises: ‘This project also underlines the successful cooperation between the Mittelland and the mountain cantons, as well as the joint commitment to renewable Swiss energy production.’ Construction will begin as soon as the snow melts, probably at the beginning of May 2025. As specified by the national solar express, the first 10 per cent of the plant should be connected to the grid before the end of 2025. The entire plant is scheduled to be completed by 2029.