Swiss energy supplier Axpo announced it is planning a 9 MW ground-mounted photovoltaic plant in the municipality of Oberiberg for the winter power supply in the region. Alpin Solar Ybrig will be the first solar project in the canton of Schwyz and the third large-scale solar installation to be implemented by Axpo in the alpine region, following on from NalpSolar and the solar plant in the Disentis ski resort. Axpo commissioned its first alpine PV project in September 2022, a 2.2 MW PV system on the Muttsee Dam, at an altitude of almost 2,500 meters above sea level.

Axpo and EWS AG, part of the Axpo Group, expect to start the construction in autumn 2024. “Initial partial commissioning is planned for the end of 2025 and full commissioning in the following years,” says Axpo. The project is being planned for an area of around 9 hectares on existing pastureland in the Roggenegg area. The area concerned should still be usable for alpine farming after the construction of the solar plant, the company says.

Axpo plans to build more than 1.2 GW of solar capacity in Switzerland. The Swiss government aims to reach 2 TWh of alpine PV production and will enable and facilitate the construction of large-scale ground-mounted PV systems in the Swiss Alps, 1,500 meters or higher above sea level.