Gries wind farm
| Gries wind farm | |||
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| location | |||
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| Coordinates | 671 885 / 146175 | ||
| country |
 Switzerland
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| Data | |||
| Type | Wind farm | ||
| Primary energy | Wind energy | ||
| power | 9.3 MW | ||
| owner | Gries Wind AG | ||
| operator | Gries Wind AG | ||
| Project start | 2007 | ||
| Start of operations | 2011, amended in 2016 | ||
| turbine | 1 × Enercon E-70 , 3 × Enercon E-92 |
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| Energy fed in per year | 13-14 GWh | ||
| was standing | 2016 | ||
The Gries wind farm is the highest wind farm in Europe. It is located between the Griespass and the Nufenenpass in the municipality of Obergoms in the Swiss canton of Valais at around 2500 m above sea level. M. The annual standard work capacity is 13 to 14 GWh .
history
Project planning started in 2007. The project developer was the Swiss company SwissWinds Development. The community and citizens' assembly unanimously approved the project in 2008.
The wind farm was opened in October 2011 with an Enercon E-70 pilot system . According to SwissWinds' initial planning, another four or five turbines should be installed from 2013 - depending on the course of this trial phase.
In 2016, three more Enercon E-92 wind turbines were installed at the site .
construction
The construction was very complex due to the topography. The rotor blades were delivered on a winding mountain road with a special vehicle. The delivery would not have been possible without this articulated low-loader, known as the “millipede”.
With the expansion in 2016, construction work could only begin after the snow had been cleared in June.
business
The wind farm is operated by Gries Wind AG. The energy providers EnAlpin and Services industriels de Genève as well as the local community of Obergoms were involved in the pilot plant . In the run-up to the expansion in 2016, the municipality of Obergoms sold its 35% stake worth over half a million francs. The other initial partners also sold their shares in the operating company to SwissWinds. These were the Services industriels de Genève (25%), the Walliser Elektrizitätsgesellschaft (10%), EnAlpin AG (5%) and the Elektrizitätswerk Obergoms AG, EW GOMS Holding AG, EWBN Elektrizitätswerk Brig-Naters AG, EVWR Energiedienste Visp -Westlich Raron AG and RELL in Leuk (each 2%). This increased the share of SwissWinds in the operating company from 5 to 90%. Only Gombau AG held its ten percent stake. With this sale the way is clear for the expansion of the wind farm by a single company.
According to this, Energie Wasser Luzern acquired a 20 percent stake from SwissWinds in April 2016.
technology
The pilot plant of the Enercon E-70 type has an annual standard energy capacity of 3 GWh and is supposed to supply 800 households. The turbine has a hub height of 85 meters and a rotor diameter of 71 meters. This results in a total height of 120.5 meters.
The three Enercon E-92s have a hub height of 83 m, a rotor diameter of 92 meters and thus a total height of 129 meters. They each have an installed capacity of 2.3 MW. With a standard energy capacity of 10 GWh, an arithmetical 2850 households are to be supplied.
In total, the annual standard energy capacity is around 13 to 14 GWh.
Environmental conditions
The average wind speed is 5.5 to 6 meters per second. Due to the altitude-related lower air density , the yield is reduced by around 25% compared to the expected value at sea level .
Because of its location in the high mountains, the turbine is equipped with a rotor blade de-icing system that keeps the rotor blades free of ice and snow.
feed
The motivation for this location was the existing electrical infrastructure. The electricity generated is fed into the nearby hydropower plant on the Gries reservoir via the transformer .
For the first system, a feed-in tariff of 20 cents (approx. 18.5 euro cents , as of November 2016) per kilowatt hour is specified.
See also
Web links
- Luzius Theler: Highest and newest wind farm. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . September 7, 2016, Retrieved October 8, 2016 .
- Turbine at 2500 meters above sea level. erneubarenenergien.de, October 6, 2011, accessed on October 8, 2016 .
- Gries Wind AG: Clear the way for the expansion of the wind farm. ee-news.ch, February 8, 2016, accessed on October 8, 2016 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The world's highest wind farm is located in Tibet at around 4700 m altitude, see: Mao Pengfei: World's highest wind farm connected to the grid. Windpower Monthly , November 8, 2013, accessed October 8, 2016 .
- ↑ ewl invests in Swiss wind energy. (PDF) ewl-luzern.ch, April 27, 2016, accessed on October 8, 2016 .