Wind energy developers benefit from Swiss incentives

Switzerland, 13 November, 2007. Swiss energy company REnInvest has announced its intention to construct eight turbines, each 78 metres in height, at between 2 000 and 2 100 metres above sea level, in the St Gotthard Pass, Switzerland.

REnInvest will be the beneficiary of the Swiss government’s efforts to boost its renewable energy industry with a financial reward package for investors due to start next year. According to REnInvest’s Roberto Mazza, “The incentives are in line with the German feed in tariff system. The tariff is calculated by incentivising special wind sites with low wind condition and small production capacity turbines. The incentive goes from a minimum of 0.23 cts/kWh to a maximum of 0.24 cts/kWh.”

The company, based in Chiasso on the Italian border, already has wind farms in Germany and Greece and says it has the backing of the commune of Airolo which owns the site for the proposed wind farm.

Along with Swiss government incentives the mood of the Swiss people with regard to wind turbines in their villages has also improved according to Roberto Mazzo. “With respect to 3-4 years ago when we first approached the land owners in Switzerland, a lot of things have changed and a common and visible understanding on climate change and the development of renewables has come to the surface,” he says.

“Now the population and the environmental organizations in Switzerland are more positive toward wind energy and less afraid of the visual impact of the turbines. They accept the fact that (as in Germany) the wind turbine could be included in the Swiss natural panorama. Besides that, a lot of remote villages are in need of financial and labour support and the development of renewable projects could help to maintain activities in some remote and small villages.”

If the project is approved the St Gotthard Pass installation will be Europe's highest wind farm. In the next 12 months REnInvest intend to support the development of wind and PV energy in the south of Switzerland and take the St Gotthard project to the construction phase. Five further projects in the west of Switzerland are currently in the early stage of development.

REnInvest

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