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The University of Barcelona to have the largest photovoltaic system ever installed in a single building in Barcelona

January 14, 2002

Barcelona, (14/1/2002).- The Faculties of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (UB) will have the most powerful photovoltaic system ever installed in a single building in the city of Barcelona thanks to the "UnivERsol" project (Universities, Renewable Energies, solar), which is co-financed by the Directorate General for Transport and Energy (DGTREN) of the European Commission. This project will involve the installation of this type of electricity generator in 25 university buildings or cultural centres in Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Spain. The aim of the project is to develop "green campuses" and "green municipalities", the forerunners of sustainable cities.

The generator to be installed in the UB will be one of the largest of the project, and with its photovoltaic modules this system will cover 500m2 of the courtyard of the Faculties of Physics and Chemistry. It will reach a peak power of approximately 50kWp and will generate about 60 MWh/year (which corresponds to approximately the yearly electrical consumption of 30 houses).

Managed by the UB and coordinated by Antoni Lloret, professor of the Department of Applied Physics and Optics, with the collaboration of the Catalan Institute of Energy of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, the UnivERsol project counts on the participation of 29 European institutions. The project design has been drawn up by the Euroregional Photovoltaic Systems Group (GESP), which is located in the Barcelona Science Park.

The total cost of the project amounts to 5.9 million Euros, of which 42% is provided by the European Commission. The construction of the photovoltaic systems will cost 4.9 million Euros (6500 Euros/ Wp) and the remaining costs are accounted for by general coordination tasks, special studies and dissemination activities.

The generators will be constructed over the next three years and during this time a campaign to disseminate results will be carried out. The total photovoltaic power planned will exceed 0.7 Megawatts peak and the estimated production of clean and renewable electric power is greater than 800 Megawatts hour/year, which will save an atmospheric contamination of some 320 tonnes of CO2/year.


The main objective of the project is to create awareness of this technological advance and to promote photovoltaic energy, which is becoming one of the most technically developed sources of electricity (clean, safe, durable, highly reliable...) and is also becoming more affordable. The photovoltaic systems installed will also allow researchers and students to study its performance via internet, with the aim to perfect the technology that affects energetic aspects as well as those concerning architecture and urban design. The participants in the project hope to establish a social forum in which to air opinions and encourage discussion, thereby promoting the mass use of this technology.

The Participants
The following institutions participate in the project through the installation of photovoltaic systems in their buildings: in Great Britain, the Universities of Cambridge, Leicester, and East Anglia; in France, the Universities Paul Sabatier of Tarbes, Claude Bernard of Lyon, and the University of Bourgogne, the Engineering Colleges of Lille, Vaux en Velin, Còrsega , institutions in Alfortville and La Bannie're, the Conseils Régionaux Rhone Alpes i Languedoc Roussillon, the town council of Ri'  and the organisation HESPUL; and in the Netherlands the University of Delft.

In our country, in addition to the UB, the following institutions are also involved in the project: the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Universities of Girona, Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, and the Balearic Islands. The town councils of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Badalona, and Art'  will also construct photovoltaic systems.

Finally, we wish to draw attention to the participation of the electricity companies Iberdrola, with a photovoltaic installation close to Madrid, and Electricité de France. Other organisations such as the University of Oxford Brookes, the engineering company Whitby Bird & Partners of London and the Catalan Institute of Energy also contribute to this project through providing their technological know-how and through their collaboration in dissemination campaigns.

Barcelona Science Park