Ural Federal University (UrFU) has installed the largest educational vertical solar power plant in the region on the facade of one of its buildings. The station is located at the southern wall of the Ural Energy Institute building and covers an area of 300 square meters.
The power of this solar power plant is 65 kW and its peak value is up to 100 kW. There are 144 panels on the facade that will provide lighting for the long corridors of the 12-storey educational building in the summer months. Thanks to the vertical arrangement, the panels will work both in summer and winter, as the snow will roll off on its own without requiring additional cleaning.
UrFU received funding for the project from the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia in the form of a grant for a youth laboratory in the amount of 10 million rubles. The main purpose of the installation is to train students and study the properties of solar panels in the Ural conditions. The head of the laboratory “Center for Environmentally Sound Energy” of UrFU, Andrey Matveev, noted that the installation will allow to study the changes in the properties of the panels over time and to evaluate their effectiveness in different climatic conditions.
The university is also confident that solar energy has great potential for the Urals. As noted by Sergei Shcheklein, head of the department “Nuclear Power Plants and Renewable Energy Sources”, the price of solar panels has decreased and their efficiency has increased, which makes the use of solar energy more promising. He emphasized that China is actively developing solar energy, while Russia should strive for advanced technologies in this area.
Source: Ferra
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