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    Alpine solar plants in Switzerland

    On these pages you will find an Overview of the large alpine solar plants in Switzerland from the date of planning application, their Advantages and Disadvantages, a Comparison of alpine solar installations with installations in the lowlands and various other information.
    Alpine solar installation on the dam wall of the Oberaarsee (2300m.a.s.l., Bernese Oberland, Switzerland).
    Alpine solar installation on the dam wall of the Oberaarsee (2300m.a.s.l., Bernese Oberland, Switzerland).
    The following alpine solar power plants have been publicly announced in Switzerland or have received initial or final approval:
    Sorting:
    Name   Height 
    m.a.s.l.    		  Canton   Power 
    MWp    		  Spec. yield 
    Year 
    kWh/kWp    		  Spec. yield
    Winter 
    kWh/kWp    		  Winter- 
    Share
    %    		 Status 
    Belalp-Solar 2650 VS 8.1 1593 691 43.4 publicly available
    Bernina Solar 2481 GR 12.6 1448 533 36.8 publicly available
    Felsenstrom, Walensee 454 SG 9.4 1278 562 44.0 publicly available
    Gibidum Solar 2200 VS 28.0 1607 714 44.4 publicly available
    Gletschersolar Matterhorn 2900 VS 7.7 1636 571 34.9 publicly available
    Gondo Solar 2071 VS 15.9 1390 541 38.9 granted first instance
    Grengiols Solar 2382 VS 92.0 1609 696 43.2 publicly available
    Hahnenmoosbärgli (Lenk) 2014 BE 10.0 1430 613 42.9 publicly available
    Hintisberg (Lütschental) 1700 BE 10.1 1247 527 42.3 publicly available
    Hohsaas 3142 VS 7.5 1521 631 41.5 granted first instance
    Madrisa Solar 1962 GR 10.8 1565 667 42.6 under construction
    Mont Soleil 1250 BE 8.5 1343 539 40.1 granted first instance
    Morgeten Solar 2127 BE 8.3 1446 646 44.7 granted first instance
    NalpSolar 2003 GR 8.1 1324 505 38.1 under construction
    Parco Solare Alpino Duragno 1768 TI 9.9 1455 768 52.8 publicly available
    Prafleuri Solar 2800 VS 9.2 1663 615 37.0 publicly available
    PV Alpin Parsenn 2444 GR 8.3 1458 587 40.3 granted first instance
    PVA Gries 2450 VS 14.0 1500 600 40.0 publicly available
    Scuol Solar 2272 GR 33.6 1432 637 44.5 publicly available
    Sedrun Solar 2029 GR 19.2 1615 750 46.5 under construction
    Sidenplangg 1894 UR 8.0 1393 572 41.1 under construction
    Solar Magriel 2189 GR 9.0 1622 600 37.0 granted first instance
    Solarkraftwerk Samedan 1705 GR 14.5 1345 632 47.0 publicly available
    Vorab 2591 GR 8.6 1435 567 39.5 legally approved
    Average 2145 15.5 1473 615 41.8
    Number of large alpine solar plants: 24
    Last updated: 29.08.2025
    Origin: Overview of large-scale photovoltaic plants (DETEC website, in German)

    Comparison of winter electricity/winter yield of test systems/statements on previous building applications for alpine solar plants

    According to studies and media releases from the ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) (external link), alpine solar plants should deliver up to four times (= factor 4) higher winter yields than solar plants in the lowlands.
    The previous building applications for alpine solar plants (see above) show winter yields that are 2 times higher than the winter yield of solar installations in the lowlands. Test installations with appropriate measuring equipment have been set up for practically every planned alpine solar installation. The results of these measurements are likely to have been included in the planning applications.
    The factor 2 (= double) refers to the yields of the Solar plant ALS24, which is located in Hasle-Rüegsau at the entrance to the Emmental at an altitude of 570m above sea level, in winter is shaded by two large trees (larch and fir) at times and is not optimized for winter.
    Based on the Studies and media releases from the ZHAW (external link) the lowland reference plant mentioned above results in a factor of around 2.5. This is still much less than the postulated 'up to four times greater winter yields' of alpine solar plants. According to the authors of the ZHAW study, the reference plant used delivers less energy per installed kWp than an average solar plant.
    The direct comparison of the measured yields of a test plant of SolSarine to the yields of the Solar plant ALS24 from November 2023 to March 2024 also lead to a factor of maximum 2, or 2.5.
    It is not clear to us where the large difference between the results of the ZHAW and the building applications and the comparison with a test facility in Saanenland comes from. The information provided by the ZHAW seems to us to be very optimistic.

    Measurement results from the test facilities at Sedrun Solar and Grengiols Solar

    Measurement results are available for two test plants for the summer half-year 2023 (Sedrun Solar) and the winter half-year 2023/24 (Sedrun Solar and Grengiols Solar).
    PlantSpecific yield yearSpecific yield winter
    BAMeasuredDifferenceBAMeasuredDifferenceFactor ALS24
    kWh/kWp%kWh/kWp%
    Sedrun Solar 2029m16151700855.3750780304.02.48
    Grengiols Solar 2382m1609696650-46-6.62.06
    Solaranlage ASL24 570m11703151
    Sources: Sedrun Solar and Grengiols Solar, (externer Link), ALS24 (Hydrological year 2023/2024)
    BA = Building application.
    The measurement results of these two test systems are also in the range of the building applications and thus significantly below the ZHAW's forecasts.
    The yields of the real plants would be somewhat lower than those of the test plants under the same meteorological conditions. Reasons: Additional shading due to the solar tables being set up in several long rows and not all solar tables will be aligned exactly south.
    Sunshine duration in summer 2023 and winter 2023/24
    Plant Sunshine duration year
    Summer 2023 and winter 2023/24    		 Sunshine duration winter
    Winter 2023/24    		 Location
    Climate Monitor
    Norm Measured Difference Norm Measured Difference
    Hrs. % Hrs. %
    Sedrun Solar 2029m 1675 1623 -52 -3.1 678 563 -115 -17.0 Sedrun
    Grengiols Solar 2382m 1935 1778 -157 -8.1 735 625 -110 -15.0 Rosswald
    Solaranlage ASL24 570m 1726 1802 76 4.4 565 539 -26 -4.6 Rüegsauschachen
    Sources: Climate monitor from MeteoSwiss, climate norm values 1991-2020 from MeteoSwiss.
    The values in the table above show how the year or winter was in relation to the average for the years 1991-2020 in terms of sunshine duration. The global radiation values would be more meaningful. These are not available for every location in the MeteoSwiss Climate Monitor.

    What we miss

    The planned alpine solar plants are supported by the state (= taxpayers) with subsidies of up to 60% of the construction costs. At the same time, these projects benefit from simplified approval procedures. In such a case, we would expect full transparency, which is currently not the case. For example, in the following points:
    • Building applications
      Although the documents relating to the building applications are made public, they can only be viewed by interested parties in the local municipalities. In the age of the Internet, it would be easy to make documents such as the environmental impact assessment report available for download as a PDF and thus accessible to a larger proportion of taxpayers.
    • Measurement results of the test systems
      Test installations are set up for practically every planned alpine solar installation. Various measurements are carried out on these test systems. We think it is a pity that these measurement results are not published. These measurement results could provide valuable insights for future projects and would increase transparency. Today, measurement data can be made available online to a large circle of interested parties with little effort.

    What we want: Full transparency

    If the Alpine "Solar Express" is extended, we hope that full transparency as described above will become mandatory for the projects claiming the high subsidies.
    Published / Updated: 1.5.2024 / 29.12.2024
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