From left to right, the researchers of the UPNA Idoia San Martín, Javier Marcos, Iñigo De la Parra, Miguel García, Luis Marroyo, Pablo Sanchis and Alfredo Ursúa

Researchers at the Public University of Navarre (UPNA) are part of a team which will work over the next three years, together with bodies from 7 countries, on a European Union which has a twin goal: to increase the quota of photovoltaic energy in Europe by 30% and the energy efficiency of photovoltaic systems by 9%, in order to reducing their kilowatt hour (kWh) cost.

The PV CROPS (PhotoVoltaic cost reduction, Reliability, Operational performance, Prediction and Simulation) project is financed by the VII Framework Programme of the European Union for lines in research, technological development and demonstration (in the Energy field). It has a total budget of about 6 million euros, of which the European Commission will provide more than 4. Of the ten work packets making up the project, the UPNA researchers are to participate in eight and will lead two of these.

Double objective

The first objective of this project is to develop scientific-technological advances that will enable a penetration of up to 30% of this type of energy in Europe, including both energy plants and rooftop systems. To this end, work will be aimed at minimising power fluctuations generated by these systems, reducing them to at least 10% over ten minutes and thus ensuring the stability of the electricity power grid. According to Mr Luis Marroyo, from the University’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, “the aim is to achieve this reduction by means of sizing and location patterns and using storage elements such as ion-lithium batteries and vanadium batteries”.

The participants will also be involved in increasing the energy efficiency of photovoltaic systems by 9% in order to reduce their kilowatt hour (kWh) cost, “thus representing an important milestone in the progress of this technology in being competitive with conventional energy sources”, stated Mr Marroyo. In this vein, the project is to develop tools both for an optimised design of photovoltaic systems as well as for their automated operation and maintenance. Moreover, the required technical specifications to enable them to be evaluated will be defined.

* Elhuyar translation, published in www.basqueresearch.com