Solar power at the Arctic Circle
Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish researchers are cooperating to prove that solar power in the North is not only possible, but also profitable.
COLD TRUTH: Solar panels are more efficient in cold climates. (Image: Northern Research Institute)
”There are a lot of misconceptions about the possibilities for solar energy in the Nordic countries”, says Tobias Boström, research leader at the Northern Research Institute in Narvik, Norway. ”We actually have a lot of sun, especially around the Baltic Sea”. The weather conditions in the region create a perfect testing site for a high latitude solar power plant.
Boström conceived the idea for the project after discovering that the small Northern town of Piteå enjoys more hours of sun in a year than almost any other town in Sweden. Located by the Baltic Sea’s Gulf of Bothnia and just 100km south of the Arctic Circle, it isn’t the first place one might look to put a solar power plant. However, the Gulf of Bothnia is in fact sunnier than Germany, the largest market for solar power in the world. Detailed computer simulations show significant solar potential, which convinced a local energy company in Piteå, PiteEnergi AB, to join the project and set up the solar power plant next to their offices.
In spite of the high number of sun hours, high latitudes pose some challenges for solar power. Nights are long in the winter, and in the summer the sun’s path over the sky varies a lot. For this reason, a two-axis solar tracking system will be put in operation in Piteå. The system tilts the solar panels so that they always face the sun at a 90-degree angle. This sun tracking technology is not often used in Southern parts of Europe, but gives Northern solar power plants the opportunity to generate energy irrespective of high latitudes. The higher the latitude, the more positive effect from the tracking system.
RIGHT ANGLE: Solar radiation measured on a horizontal surface (top), and on a surface following the sun's path (bottom). Measured this way, Northern Sweden receives more radiation than much of Germany, the world's largest market for solar power. (Source: JRC)
Because of the cold climate in the Nordic countries, the researchers need to find solutions to problems caused by snow and icing. But the cold Nordic climate can also be an advantage in solar energy production, as the efficiency of the solar panels increases with lower temperatures.
The solar power plant in Piteå, Sweden is expected to generate 28 MWh annually. The energy will be used to power the offices of PiteEnergi. As soon as data from the Piteå plant is available, the researchers hope to convince the public and investors that large solar power plants at high latitudes are both technically and economically feasible.
This project is a cooperation between the Northern Research Institute (Norway), Kemi-Tornionlaakso Municipal Education and Training Consortium (Finland), Luleå University of Technology (Sweden) and PiteEnergi (Sweden) and is supported by Nordic Energy Research.
Article written by Guri Nordgreen Romtveit
Related Articles
Bathing in light
The Finnish city of Pori is building a solar heated swimming pool complex.
Harness and control solar energy
AventaSolar AS is a young Norwegian company, founded in 2005, but with long experience within solar thermal energy and waterbased heating.
Denmark’s first carbon neutral building
The Green Lighthouse is a new facility at the University of Copenhagen. It is carbon neutral, utilizes solar panels, district heating, natural lighting and ventilation. And it shows us that energy eff
