Multi-Contact Products on Top

Stäubli Electrical Connectors, Inc. Posted 02/12/2013

Europe’s highest solar power station at the "Matterhorn Glacier Paradise" near Zermatt, Switzerland, employs Multi-Contact junction boxes and connectors.

Europe’s highest solar power station at the "Matterhorn Glacier Paradise" near Zermatt, Switzerland108 solar panels by 3S Swiss Solar Systems are built into the south front of the new, environmentally compatible restaurant on top of the Klein Matterhorn. For the cabling of the installation at 3840m 3S chose MC junction boxes PV-JB/2 and MC4 connectors. Thanks to the high sun intensity and additional refl exion by snow, the alpine location offers ideal conditions for a photovoltaic installation.

At a hight of roughly 4000m, the weather conditions are extreme, marked by permanent frost and strong wind. This poses high demands to the quality of the employed material. As well as the extra thick panels developed by 3S particularly for this project, the Multi-Contact elements are characterized by durability and a long lifespan, and thus ideally suited for the use in this environment.

The installation is a pioneer project by the Zermatt Bergbahnen AG and the sol-E Suisse AG, and is unique in Europe.