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A large solar system is planned near Savognin (GR). The resized project still faces several hurdles – for example regarding compensation.
It is one of the major projects of the city of Zurich’s electricity company (EWZ): above the village of Savognin in Val Nandro, photovoltaic systems are to provide electricity for around 25,000 households. That’s half as many as originally planned.
In the morning, the EWZ provided information about the progress. The project, which is being planned on several areas adjacent to the Savognin ski area, will not be quite as big as expected. 93,000 modules are expected to produce 68 gigawatt hours of electricity per year at this location. It is said that this corresponds to around two and a half times the needs of the municipality of Surses including mountain railways.
Legend:
Visualization: This is what the field of solar systems in the Graubünden mountains could look like.
EWZ
The further timetable for the major project is tight. The time pressure is one of the reasons why the project is now smaller than planned, those responsible explained. The first EWZ test facility is scheduled to be installed in the area as early as next month.
The Surses community assembly is scheduled to decide on this in December. If the answer is yes, construction can begin in spring 2025. By the end of that year, 10 percent of the system should be in operation – a prerequisite for federal support to be available as part of the Swiss “Solar Express”.
The construction of the facility in Val Nandro is expected to cost a good 100 million francs. If the requirement is met, the federal government will reimburse 60 percent of the uncovered investment costs. If this goal is not achieved, politicians should extend the deadline for subsidies, according to the EWZ. Full commissioning should be possible by 2028.
How is the compensation going?
The “Solar Express” is the federal government’s major energy offensive so that numerous solar systems, such as the one in Savognin, will be built in the Alps in the next few years. One problem that arises again and again is compensation for the affected communities.
It took about a hundred years for mountain areas to get a fair price for hydropower.
In the case of the municipality of Surses, the project management is the responsibility of the electricity company in the distant city of Zurich. Negotiations as to how much money Surses should receive are still ongoing. Mayor Leo Thomann says to “Schweiz aktuell”: “We are of course trying to get as much out of it as possible. At the same time, the EWZ wants to pay as little as possible.”
The large solar systems in the Alps are currently being criticized for many reasons. This means that the gold rush atmosphere in the mountains is back, says Kaspar Schuler from the international Alpine protection commission Cipra. Because politicians have not introduced a uniform regulation for compensation for mountain areas, they are on the verge of repeating the mistakes of back then. “It took about a hundred years until the mountain areas received a fair price for hydropower.”
Years of partnership from Zurich to Graubünden
In the case of the alpine solar system in the municipality of Surses, this should not happen. Philippe Heinzer, head of the energy division at EWZ, says that the EWZ maintains a close partnership with Surses – particularly through hydropower. “I’m now saying that the community doesn’t feel like it’s been ripped off.”
The Surses mayor Leo Thomann says: “The community will benefit. On the one hand through contributions, on the other hand through investments, for example in the pipeline or in the roads that are being expanded for access.