Swiss utility opens 200-meter solar-powered bike lane
Swisspower Stadtwerk SIG, an electricity company based in the Swiss canton of Geneva, has announced the completion of a 200-meter photovoltaic system it deployed along a stretch of road in Satigny. The Solar Horizon system took six months to construct and is expected to generate 200,000 kWh of electricity per year, the company said.
In 2021, SIG announced an architectural design competition in which participants would create prototypes of photovoltaic roofs for use on bike paths. Ultimately, an architectural firm called Colucci & Colucci won the competition.
SIG says the facility was designed with a combination of nature, heritage and landscape conservation in mind. The use of recycled concrete for the foundations and the construction of a metal structure and a secondary structure using local timber meant that the system was fully integrated into the surrounding landscape.
The entire structure consists of 468 double-sided solar modules and the electricity generated will be fed into the cantonal Geneva grid.
SIG estimates the cost of the project at CHF 1.5 million ($1.67 million). The prototype design is currently being evaluated and will be rolled out in the canton of Geneva or elsewhere in Switzerland.
Source: www.pv-magazine.com