Swiss utility Azienda Elettrica Ticinese has completed construction of Switzerland’s largest wind farm and first MW-class wind farm built in the country since 2016.
The 11.75MW San Gottardo project features five of Enercon’s E-92 2.35MW turbines and is due to be fully commissioned at the start of November.
It was built in the Gotthard Pass in the Swiss Alps, where the site’s 2,100-metre altitude and closure during the winter complicated construction work.
The project is due to generate 16-20GWh per year – enough to cover the electricity needs of all households in the Leventina district of southern Switzerland, the developer claimed.
AET will receive 20-year subsidies for the project’s output from the Swiss government’s KEV renewable energy fund, which is financed by taxes on energy consumption.
The utility added that the San Gottardo project was the only wind farm being built in Switzerland and had faced a long approval process with numerous appeals.
According to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly, only a 6.5kW project south of Zurich has been commissioned in Switzerland since 2016.
The country has an operational onshore wind fleet of 75MW.
