Agder Energi - Grid-connected solar electricity

Agder Energi has recently commissioned a 45 kW photovoltaic (PV) system

Agder Energi has recently commissioned a 45 kW photovoltaic (PV) system on top of their new energy-efficient headquarters in Kristiansand, Norway. This will be one of Norway's largest PV installations and also one of the first grid-connected PV systems in the country.

The pre-project 'Solstrøm på nett' (grid-connected solar electricity) is a collaboration between Agder Energi Innovasjon, Agder Energi Nett, Eltek Valere, Teknova, the University of Agder, and Elkem Solar. This R&D consortium represents the local industry and research groups on solar cell technology in the Agder counties. The pre-project is supported by the regional funding body 'Regionale Forskningsfond Agder', and Teknova is the project manager.

Using Agder Energi's PV system as a basis, the consortium will gather new knowledge and experience of the characteristics and performance of grid-connected PV systems in a northern climate like Norway. Three different types of PV technologies are being tested: Elkem Solar Silicon (Suntech modules), polycrystalline silicon (REC modules), and thin film amorphous/micromorphous silicon (Sharp modules). Eltek Valere has delivered the system, incorporating their self-developed Theia-inverters.

The project is also part of an ongoing European collaboration project (IEA PVPS Task 13), where operational data is collected from different grid-connected PV systems in several European countries. The data is collected into a large international database, in order to improve performance and reliability  of PV systems through the standardization and exchange of experience. The installation at Agder Energi will provide the first operational data from Norway into this international database.