- German system integrator Badenova has inaugurated the first PV roof for cycle paths in Germany.
- The 287 kW installation is located in Freiburg, in the southern part of the country, and is based on 900 translucent glass-glass solar modules provided by German panel maker Solarwatt.
The modules in the series have a general technical approval from the German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt). They are therefore regarded as a regulated building product that can be used without restriction in the private and public sector. The solar modules can also be used for overhead and facade installations without individual checks and additional security measures.
The solar array is 300 m long and is located near the SC Freiburg football stadium, which is already equipped with a PV system that utilizes heterojunction modules supplied by Switzerland-based Meyer Burger.
Badenova’s Badenova Wärme Plus subsidiary partnered with the city of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in the construction of the cycle path. Freiburg-based company Clickcon provided the mounting structures.
The energy generated by the facility – around 280 MWh per year – will be primarily used in the laboratories and buildings of Fraunhofer ISE. The Freiburg Institute is also the leaseholder and operator of the facility and will be responsible for monitoring.
“We have to rethink photovoltaics so that we can integrate further projects of this kind into the cityscape. This pilot project shows how urban spaces can be used twice,” said Heinz-Werner Hölscher, a Badenova board member.
Author: Sandra Enkhardt
This article was originally published in pv magazine and is republished with permission.
