Alpiq sells seven photovoltaic systems to Panneaux Solaires
Alpiq has announced the sale of seven rooftop photovoltaic installations to PS Panneaux Solaires SA. The installations in the cantons of Fribourg, Solothurn, and Vaud have a total capacity of 5.5 megawatts peak.
Alpiq has announced the sale of seven rooftop photovoltaic plants to PS Panneaux Solaires SA. The Lausanne-based electricity provider wants to bring more solar energy into the energy grid, which is why the power plants are being sold as a unit, according to a press release. At their locations in the cantons of Fribourg, Solothurn and Vaud, the plants have a total capacity of 5.5 megawatts peak.
Alpiq would like to concentrate more on its core business of highly flexible power plant solutions, according to the press release. The planning, construction and operation of photovoltaic plants “that are not closely related to the core business” will therefore be discontinued. “The challenge is to integrate weather-dependent electricity production from wind and solar energy into the energy system,” said Amédée Murisier, Head of the Switzerland business division and member of the Alpiq Executive Board. PS Panneaux Solaires SA, the operating company of the Gefiswiss Energy Transition Fund, is the ideal “buyer to continue operating the seven plants, which will continue to produce solar power for many years to come”, it says.
The energy transition requires flexible solutions for greater security of supply. Alpiq wants to use its portfolio to promote the use of renewable energies as well as the expansion of storage solutions and the generation of winter electricity. With its portfolio of highly flexible power plants, the company says it sees itself as a “pioneer of the energy transition”.
Alpiq is primarily involved in hydropower plants, such as the Nant de Drance and FMHL pumped storage power plants. Their efficient large-scale batteries with a capacity of 1,400 megawatts are an ideal means of feeding the growing proportion of photovoltaic electricity into the grids as short-term daily or weekly storage.