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Two new solar power plants in Härkingen
Swiss Post has begun operating two new photovoltaic systems on the roofs of the Letter and Parcel Centre in Härkingen. With modules covering around 10,000 square metres, the systems are among the largest in the Swiss plateau. They produce electricity for around 380 average households. Since 2012, Swiss Post has obtained electricity exclusively from renewable energy from the Swiss grid and produces around 5,000 MWh of its own solar power every year.
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At the end of October 2014, Swiss Post completed two further photovoltaic systems on its business premises in Härkingen. The systems on the roofs of the Letter and Parcel Centre in Härkingen consist of 6,000 modules with a total surface area of around 10,000 square metres. They will produce up to 1,340,000 kWh of CO2-free renewable electrical energy each year. This is equivalent to the electricity consumption of over 380 Swiss households over the same period. The two systems save 180 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year compared with mixed sources of electricity in Switzerland. The systems at the Härkingen site are among the largest in the Swiss plateau.
Last year, Swiss Post commissioned more systems at the parcel centres in Daillens and Frauenfeld as well as on the Swiss Post buildings in Sion, Geneva, Locarno, and Giubiasco. Together with the systems in Yverdon and Zurich-Mülligen, which have been in operation since the end of 2012, Swiss Post now runs ten installations. In total, they generate around 5,000,000 kWh of solar electricity which is fed into the grid. With these systems, Swiss Post is making an important contribution to implementing Switzerland’s Energy Strategy 2050. The focus of this strategy is on expanding renewable energies.
Swiss Post’s commitment to climate protection
Since 2008, Swiss Post has covered all of its electricity requirements through the use of renewable energy. These requirements have been completely fulfilled in Switzerland since 2012 and the electricity has also had "naturemade basic" certification since 2013. The electricity is produced mainly by Swiss hydro power, with a 5 percent contribution from wind, solar, small hydro and biomass power plants in Switzerland. Swiss Post has a fleet of over 5,000 electric scooters and 129 biogas vehicles for letter and parcel delivery, while PostBus runs hybrid and hydrogen-powered buses, highlighting Swiss Post’s active role in climate protection. It is partly due to these efforts that Swiss Post was able to exceed its CO2 reduction targets by the end of 2013. It also offsets the CO2 emissions of all its domestic addressed letter deliveries.