Axpo is increasingly active in the development, planning, construction and operation of solar power systems. Following its acquisition of Urbasolar in 2019, Axpo has become one of the most significant companies in the solar energy sector in France. The 2020/21 financial year saw the construction of plants with an installed capacity of 200 megawatts. Axpo intends to build an additional 10 GW of photovoltaic systems by 2030 – that’s roughly 20 times more than today. In Switzerland, the solar division of subsidiary CKW generated 36% additional turnover. There are plans to install an additional 200 MW here in Switzerland by 2030. A unique flagship project is to be set up in Leuk, Valais, in 2022. This sees CKW equipping three disused satellite dishes with solar panels. Above all else, the plant will also produce valuable winter electricity. And, this summer, Axpo installed a PV system at its headquarters too, with shareholdings initially restricted to employees only:

While Switzerland may be accused of progressing (too) slowly with the expansion of renewable energies, Axpo is on an international growth trajectory with wind power. Through its subsidiary Volkswind, Axpo has installed more than 80 wind farms since 2015 with an installed capacity of more than 1,350 MW, 132 MW of this in the past financial year. While some of the wind farms will remain in Axpo’s portfolio, others will be systematically sold to investors to generate additional revenue. In connection with this, in July 2021 Axpo announced the sale of five newly installed wind farms in France with an installed capacity of 74.5 mega-watts.

Find out what the inside of a wind turbine looks like in this video (German only):