Romande Energie, a pioneering leader in alpine solar power, has been at the forefront of floating solar installations for over a decade. Its groundbreaking project on Lac des Toules has undergone three phases. The journey began in 2013 with a small 60-square-meter pilot structure followed by a larger 2,240-square-meter demonstration project in 2019. This 2019 project, which used bifacial solar panels spread across 35 floating structures, revealed the potential for alpine solar energy production to be up to 50% more than those at sea level. Although the results after three years showed a 30% gain, Guillaume Fuchs, co-director of Energy Solutions at Romande Energie, remains confident.
The forthcoming large-scale photovoltaic installation will cover a 19-hectare surface of the 61-hectare Lac des Toules. The project is estimated to generate 22 GWh per year by employing approximately 27,000 solar panels, sufficient to power an average of 6,200 households. This equals nearly 90% of households in the Entremont district.
Though facing various challenges, from the demands of winter production, panel inclinations, and snowy conditions, lessons learned from the demonstration phase remain critical. Fuchs notes, “We’ve learned a lot for future operations. The original concept remains the same, and we are very confident for the third phase, which will soon be realized.”
Timeline, funding, and community engagement:
The new project will take shape with civil engineering works starting in spring 2024, followed by the installation of the first floating structures in summer 2025. The complete setup is scheduled for no later than 2030. This initiative complies with the new federal legislation, especially the Federal Energy Act, and is expected to qualify for subsidies if partially operational by the end of 2025. The anticipated subsidies could bring the total cost of this large-scale floating solar park close to CHF 100 million.
The Bourg-Saint-Pierre community is not financially involved in the project and does not expect direct benefits for now. However, all terms are still open for negotiation as the project progresses.
This endeavor confirms the canton of Valais’ continuing commitment to innovation in clean energy. By learning from past experiences and continually improving, the canton is carving out its niche in the world’s quest for sustainable energy solutions.
