Alpine PV Competence
A project to support implementation partners by the Swiss universities of applied sciences
Latest Knowledge Articles
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Guides
On this page, a collection of links to published guides relevant to the field of alpine PV is being created. Leitfaden zu PV-Kraftwerken in den Alpen Link: https://www.swissolar.ch/01_wissen/fachwissen/photovoltaik/leitfaeden/250211_leitfaden_alpine-pv-kraftwerke.pdf This guide, published by Swissolar, offers a broad overview of the opportunities and challenges of alpine PV. Its goal is to support planers, investors and authorities throughout…
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Alpine PV Module Testing
The article “Alpine PV Stressors” explains the particularly challenging environment of the Alps. Factors such as low temperatures, ice formation, snow accumulation, strong winds, high irradiance and high ultraviolet (UV) radiation may lead to the need for “alpine PV module design”. Furthermore, these specific challenges may require reliability tests that go beyond the requirements of…
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Monitoring of pilot projects
During the planning phase, an off-grid pilot project is often implemented, to test the chosen solutions in real conditions and gather further information on the building site. Hence, compared to the monitoring of an operational power plant, where optimization of production is the main focus, the monitoring of such pilot plants has a more experimental…
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Field experiences so far
The interviews conducted with various actors in alpine PV indicated that, so far, most interventions required on PV power plants in the Alps were due to mechanical damages. Snow drift turns out to be the biggest challenge, since it is hard to predict and can lead to huge forces. Indeed, not only does it lead…
