According to an announcement by the Zurich Cantonal Electricity Works (EKZ), construction work on the »Madrisa Solar« power plant officially began on 4 June. The project is a collaboration between the municipality of Klosters and the energy companies Repower and EKZ, and forms part of the Swiss Federal Government’s »Solar Express« programme. Created by the Federal Parliament in autumn 2022, this legal framework is limited until the end of 2025 and was designed to enable large photovoltaic systems to be implemented in high mountain regions as quickly and easily as possible.
Madrisa Solar is being built above Klosters at an altitude of around 2,000 metres. Once completed, the solar power plant will have a capacity of twelve megawatts, supplying around 17 GWh of electricity per year — over 40 per cent of which will be generated in winter. Some of the solar energy will be used directly on site to power the Klosters-Madrisa mountain railways.
»After an intensive planning phase and a demanding approval process involving many parties, we are very pleased to see construction work finally getting underway,« says Michael Roth, Head of Production & Grid at Repower and member of the Executive Board.
Pupils in Years 5 and 6 at Klosters Platz also explored the energy future of their community. Their ideas on the subject were buried in a time capsule at the groundbreaking ceremony for future generations to discover.
Following the municipality of Klosters’ population voting in favour of Madrisa Solar in October 2023, preparatory work began in autumn 2024. Around 15 per cent of the plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. Full commissioning is planned for the end of 2027. The planning and implementation of Madrisa Solar was commissioned to companies based mainly in the region.
© PHOTON
