Mont Soleil
| Mont Soleil | ||
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 Aerial view of the photovoltaic system on Mont Soleil |
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| height | 1288.5 m above sea level M. | |
| location | Canton of Bern , Switzerland | |
| Mountains | law | |
| Dominance | 4.4 km → Chasseral | |
| Notch height | 218 m ↓ Les Reprises | |
| Coordinates | 565 901 / 223 913 | |
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The Mont Soleil forms with 1289 m above sea level. M. the highest point of the entire mountain range of the Montagne du Droit .
geography
Mont Soleil is located in the Swiss Jura in the canton of Bern, north of Saint-Imier . The largest solar power plant in Switzerland is located on the mountain ; The Mont Soleil has been named for him since the Middle Ages. The German name Sonnenberg does not only refer to Mont Soleil, but to the entire Montagne du Droit.
The hamlet of the same name is located at around 1200 m on the upper southern slope of Mont Soleil. It consists mainly of holiday homes and colonies. The area has been accessed by a funicular from Saint-Imier since 1903 ; this was completely renovated in 2003. The mountain station is 1180 m above sea level. M. The ridge area of Mont Soleil is characterized by extensive extensively used pasture land which by dry stone walls is limited.
geology
From a structural geological point of view, Mont Soleil forms an anticline of the Jura folds . It is bounded in the south by the Vallon de Saint-Imier and in the north by the high plateau of the Freiberg mountains. The southern leg of the anticline drops steeply to the Vallon de Saint-Imier. Here the upcoming competent rock layers of the Upper Jurassic Period ( Malm ) are exposed in different places. The northern flank of the anticline, on the other hand, has only a relatively slight slope. The shape of the Champ Meusel on the southern slope of Mont Soleil, northeast of Saint-Imier, is a special feature . It was not created by erosion , but is the remnant of a meteorite impact in prehistoric times and is considered the largest preserved evidence of a meteorite impact in Switzerland.
Solar power plant
The Mont Soleil achieved international fame for its photovoltaic system . In 1992, Europe's largest photovoltaic solar power plant was built on a 20,000 m² field for research and demonstration purposes. It has an output of 560 kW . The total area of the solar cells is 4,575 m². This generates around 550 MWh of electricity annually . There is close cooperation between the Mont-Soleil company and the Saint-Imier engineering school (today part of the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland ) as well as numerous experts to test new technologies and present the results to interested specialist groups. The facility can also be visited. A 4.5 km long adventure trail leads from Mont Soleil to the northeast to the Mont Crosin wind power station .
Web links
- Espace découverte Energie Erlebniswelt Mont-Soleil, Vallon de Saint-Imier, Mont-Crosin
- Mont-Soleil Society Solar Power Plant and Mont-Soleil Research Center