Building technology specialist CKW installed 614 solar panels on two dishes built in 1972 – 307 panels on each – so that each generates around 110,000 kWh of electricity a year.
The company also installed a solar array on the main building of Leuk TDC’s computing and data centre, generating a further 555,000 kWh a year.
The rest of the data centre’s electricity comes from hydroelectric plants, so it runs completely on renewable energy sources.
Technology company SolarEdge helped overcome difficulties posed by the dishes’ concave shape, where their varied inclinations could have reduced the system’s efficiency.
In a press release, CKW said traditional string solar inverters cause the overall solar array to match the weakest performing panel on the string, so one shaded panel could cut all panels’ energy yield.
A crew employed by building technology specialist CKW installing the panels (Courtesy of CKW)SolarEdge used a DC-optimised inverter, with “power optimisers” attached to the underside of every pair of panels to mitigate module mismatch and make the project more financially viable.
“In complex cases such as these with uneven surfaces, without the use of power optimisers we simply would not have been able to achieve anywhere close to the level of energy being produced today,” said Manuel Jossi, CKW’s deputy head of solar technology for central Switzerland.
“By following the sun’s path throughout the day, these dishes optimise solar radiation absorption. Having installed them we get considerably more hours of electricity than conventional string system, and power optimisers enhance electricity production further,” said Leuk TDC chief executive John Harris.
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Bechtel picked for main phases of 1.3GW ‘Mammouth’ solar farmObsolete satellite dishes become sun-tracking solar plants Global Construction Review.
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