Guided tour on Mont-Soleil: wind farm and solar power plant

15:00, Mont-Soleil

Monique Voumard drives onto the gravel area in front of the BKW visitor centre. She lives just 20 minutes away in the municipality of Tramelan. Cheerfully, Monique opens the door and first fetches the broom to clear the entrance of the dirt from the last guided tour. She wants everything to look nice when she welcomes her group.

15:30, visitor centre

The group arrives on time and takes a seat for the presentation. “We were recently recognised as a cantonal centre of expertise for renewable energy,” Monique explains proudly.

There, on Mont-Soleil in the Bernese Jura, BKW operates one of the largest solar power plants and Switzerland’s largest wind farm, JUVENT. With confidence, Monique takes her audience on a journey into the world of renewable energy and through this unique research and development facility.

After a digression about the solar park, she turns to the wind turbines and explains that the first one was built back in 1996. You can sense Monique’s passion for her profession. Yet at the start of her career, she knew little about the subject. “The topic of electricity production wasn’t really my thing,” she admits with a mischievous smile. But she has continued to undertake further training. Today, she has her own solar installation on the roof of her house. “That is a major advantage, because now I’m an expert through experience,” she says with a laugh.

15:50, 4D hologram

The visitors gather around a modern 4D hologram that presents the history of the Earth’s formation and shows that there is only one solution: away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energies. While the audience watches the animation with rapt attention, Monique tells us that, over all these years, she has not lost the slightest bit of her enjoyment of the guided tours: “Every tour is different – and different questions are always asked.”

16:00, to wind turbines 7 and 9

Now it’s on to the wind turbines. Monique explains details of the optimisations carried out on the turbines between 1996 and 2016: how the rotor blades became longer and wider so that they could generate more electricity. How the fan in the turbine was replaced by a water cooler on the turbine, and that the mast is conical and consists of four sections. She also explains that the 16 wind turbines are equipped with heavy foundations. And that is a good thing, because when the wind sweeps powerfully across Mont-Soleil, the wind turbines are put under considerable strain.

4.15 p.m., in the turbine room

Now it’s time to get down to business: Monique gathers the whole group in the turbine room. It is the workplace of the two technicians who maintain all 16 turbines in the park. The tours are also about creating acceptance: “Many people are not aware of how much a wind turbine produces,” explains Monique. Several thousand people visit the wind farm every year. At peak times, Monique gives four tours a week. “There are seven of us guides. A great team that supports one another.”

4.35 p.m., at the solar power plant

Monique leads the group to the solar power plant below the visitor centre. There are 110 photovoltaic tables on a 20,000-square-metre field. “Thirty years ago, we produced electricity here for around 200 families. Nowadays, due to the increase in consumption, it is only enough for 120 families. We are using more and more electricity,” she points out. The good thing is that the technology is developing rapidly. This is also true on Mont-Soleil, as Monique explains: “The solar power plant is set to become an international beacon for the benchmarking of solar modules.”

4:45 p.m., back at the visitor centre

The tour has come to an end. The visitors are delighted. ‘I’m impressed. It was fascinating to learn how ideally solar and wind energy complement each other,’ says one visitor. Monique is also satisfied. What does she wish for the future? ‘That renewable energies receive more support. And that I can continue working as a visitor guide in this wonderful place for a long time to come. Here, energy can be experienced.’

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