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OKSwitzerland is long in summer and short in winter. That is, we produce more electricity than we can use in summer and less than we need in winter. As electricity is not easy to store, it makes sense to sell the excess electricity in summer and buy the electricity we lack in winter. In other words, trading electricity is necessary to secure the power supply in Switzerland. Navin Parasram, Head of Trading at Alpiq, sheds more light on the topic of trading.
The potential to harness the solar energy is vast. Alpiq intends to make greater use of this energy source – for example with PV systems on the rooftops of large industrial companies or farming properties. We visited Henri Julmy in Ponthaux in the canton of Fribourg. Since the end of June, he has been generating solar electricity on his farm.
The two run-of-river power plants Gösgen and Ruppoldingen will generate approximately 8 GWh of additional electricity in the winter half-year 2022/2023 compared to an average winter. This is possible thanks to lower residual water volumes and a constant reservoir level. These two measures are limited to the period up to April 2023 and contribute to enhancing the security of supply in Switzerland.
The municipality of Leytron, Genedis and Alpiq are joining forces to develop an alpine solar power project on the heights of Ovronnaz. The production potential is estimated at 40 GWh per year, a significant part of which will be produced in winter. The gradual commissioning is planned from 2025.