Legally binding building permit for alpine solar plant on the Vorab

Media release from Repower AG – Landquart, July 1, 2024. The planned alpine solar plant below the Vorab Glacier has reached an important milestone. The project by the Weisse Arena Group and Repower is one of the first alpine solar projects in Switzerland to receive a legally binding building permit. No objections were received within the statutory objection period.

At the end of May 2024, the Graubünden cantonal government granted the Vorab solar project in the municipality of Laax a first-instance building permit. After no one exercised their right of appeal during the 30-day objection period, the project now has a legally binding building permit. The solar plant on the Vorab is thus one of the first projects in Switzerland to receive a legally binding building permit under the so-called Solarexpress program.

Climate-friendly solar energy for mountain railway

The high-altitude solar power plant is to be built east of the glacier tongue near the Vorab mountain station. Around 22,000 modules are planned for an area of approximately 150,000 square meters. With an annual production capacity of around 8.6 MW, these would be expected to supply around 12 GWh of electricity. The Weisse Arena Group would be an important consumer of the locally produced solar energy. The solar plant on the Vorab would produce more electricity than the Weisse Arena Group consumes annually for all its mountain railways, including snow-making. This would bring the group a big step closer to its vision of becoming a producer rather than a consumer.

Economic efficiency is a major challenge

The gross investment required to build the alpine solar plant is estimated at over CHF 35 million. Although the location below the Vorab glacier is particularly suitable in many respects for the construction and operation of an alpine solar plant, and although the project can count on federal subsidies, economic viability remains a major challenge, which is why no decision on construction has yet been made. Weisse Arena Bergbahnen AG and Repower will only be able to make this decision once binding offers have been received and the final federal subsidies have been clarified.

This is Repower

Repower has been active as an electricity producer, distribution network operator, and energy trader for 120 years. Its key markets are Switzerland and Italy. Its headquarters are in Poschiavo (Graubünden, Switzerland). It has additional branches in Bever, Ilanz, Küblis, Landquart, Zurich, and Milan. Repower is active along the entire electricity value chain, from production and trading to distribution and sales, and is also involved in the gas business. Repower is the largest energy supplier in the canton of Graubünden, where it owns and operates several hydropower plants. In Italy, Repower is one of the major suppliers of electricity and gas to businesses. The company's portfolio in Italy includes several wind and solar parks and a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant. The preservation and expansion of renewable energies is an integral part of Repower's strategy. The same applies to the sustainable development of the company in economic, social, and environmental terms.