immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Bergbahnen

  • Alpine solar plant planned at the Madrisa mountain railway

    Alpine solar plant planned at the Madrisa mountain railway

    The planned Madrisasolar alpine solar plant would be located at around 2000 metres above sea level and would cover an area of around 150,000 square metres when completed. The approximately 30,000 modules would all face south and, with a production capacity of 12 MW, would deliver an average annual output of probably over 17 GWh. This amount of electricity could supply around 3,500 households.

    The yield of solar electricity, especially in the important winter months, is particularly high at this location. And the electricity is produced where it is partly needed. The consumption and production profiles of the mountain railway and Madrisasolar are an ideal match, so that the Madrisa mountain railway could be powered entirely by solar electricity. The production of locally generated, renewable energy is an important issue for Klosters-Madrisa Bergbahnen AG and Madrisasolar would be a big step towards more sustainability on the mountain. In addition, the plant would also cover local and regional needs.

    Area with existing infrastructure and use
    Madrisasolar would be located in an area with existing infrastructure and use. An environmental impact assessment is currently being carried out. The landowner of the site is the political municipality of Klosters; the right of use currently lies with the alpine cooperative. The owner and operator of Madrisasolar would be the Graubünden energy provider Repower AG, while Fanzun AG would be responsible for the technical project management. The participation of the municipality and the further framework conditions are currently still being examined and worked out.

    The Klosters municipal council and Klosters-Madrisa Bergbahnen AG support the project. All parties involved consider the addition of production facilities for renewable energies to be imperative and judge the planned location to be possible and well compatible from an environmental, landscape and tourism point of view. In the light of the Energy City label, a corresponding production plant also fits in perfectly with the energy strategy of the municipality of Klosters. There are still a number of political and technical hurdles to overcome before the licensing procedure can be initiated. In addition to the municipal parliament and the electorate, the civic assembly is also responsible for the progress of this large-scale plant. A public information event on the project is planned for August 2023. The vote is planned for 22 October 2023.

  • Second Homes Act affects real estate markets less than expected

    Second Homes Act affects real estate markets less than expected

    On March 12, 2012, the Swiss population accepted the second home initiative. The corresponding Second Homes Act stipulates that no additional holiday homes or houses may be built in communities with more than 20 percent second homes. Experts feared that if the initiative were accepted, the prices for corresponding real estate in the tourist areas would explode.

    Ten years later, these fears have not been confirmed, writes the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts ( HSLU ) in a statement . Researchers at the HSLU have examined the effects of the Second Homes Act in two studies. According to the results, house prices did not increase until 2018, but instead actually decreased.

    “The acceptance of the initiative has led to a panic-like flood of last-minute building applications,” the head of the relevant study, Daniel Steffen, is quoted as saying in the statement. “Ironically, this has caused a temporary oversupply.” It was only with the outbreak of the pandemic that the demand for apartments in the tourist mountain regions increased. “Today, prices are roughly back to the level at which model calculations show they would be even without the second home initiative,” says Steffen.

    The hotel industry and mountain railways also felt only minor consequences of the new regulation, as is further explained in the communication. Only the hotel industry’s model of cross-financing renovations through the construction and sale of second homes is restricted by the Second Homes Act. In the construction industry, however, the researchers identify significant impairments for construction companies active in the affected communities. “In particular, larger, strategically broad-based companies” are already “orientated more towards the valley floor, where orders are not so heavily dependent on the construction of second homes,” the head of the corresponding study, Stefan Lüthi, is quoted in the statement.

    “Looking at all sectors, it can be expected that the effects of the Second Homes Act will only be noticeable in the coming years,” the HSLU researchers state.