A photovoltaic facility with the highest elevation in Europe is currently under construction in the Austrian state of Styria. The power plant should supply electricity for 600 households each year. The photovoltaic facility is being built at an altitude of 1,900 meters and thus boasts the highest elevation in Europe as well as the biggest in Austria. There are two reasons for choosing such a location, according to the project manager Bernd Lippacher: first, the power of the sun is stronger on a mountain, and second the required infrastructure already exists due to the close proximity to the Tauern Wind Park.
The project entails an investment volume of EUR 4.5 million, while the photovoltaic plant is expected to come on stream in the fall of 2011.