TechnoCentre éolien Commissions Solar Facility for Applied Research

December 14, 2017

The TechnoCentre éolien (TCE) is pleased to announce the installation and commissioning of a 16 kW solar PV system at its research site in Gaspé. Thanks to this new infrastructure, which consists of 60 photovoltaic (PV) panels, the TechnoCentre éolien raises its commitment to solar research to a new level.

“We acquired this new applied research equipment to meet the growing interest in solar in Quebec as well as the needs of several of our partners, states TCE General Manager Frédéric Côté.

A number of the technical and technological challenges associated with integrating solar power are similar to those of wind. Commissioning this solar unit will therefore go a long way toward reinforcing the expertise of the TCE team, which now finds itself even better equipped to support the development of the solar sector in Quebec and throughout Canada.”

Solar panel installation work began in October and was completed just recently. A video showing the construction of our solar array is available here.
It should be noted that, in the past 10 years, PV solar power has been experiencing unprecedented growth throughout the world, with an average annual increase in installed capacity of approximately 48%.

As of 2016, cumulative installed capacity stood at 303 GW. Technology improvements and falling production costs – in the order of 85% over the past decade – mean that solar power is now an emerging energy sector in Quebec.

In addition to allowing the TechnoCentre éolien to carry out its own research work, this new research infrastructure is being made available to the renewable energy industry to complete various research mandates.

Drawing from its expertise in the field of cold climate research, the TechnoCentre éolien notably intends to study the energy performance of solar panels in cold climate conditions. “Contrary to popular belief, it is not true that solar panels do not work in winter. They function with light rather than heat; in fact, solar panel yields are actually greater in lower temperatures than in higher temperatures, explains Frédéric Côté. Our research will notably allow us to characterize environmental impacts such as temperature, snow and cloud cover as we strive to optimize solar power units operating in cold climates,” he adds.

TCE researchers will also be able to evaluate the operational performance of wind / solar PV systems combined with diesel generators in stand-alone microgrids such as islands and remote communities.
Planned research also includes the validation/adaptation of technological solutions to be integrated into solar facilities and the development of short-term solar irradiance forecasting models.

Lastly, the TechnoCentre éolien has also installed four rooftop solar panels on one of the buildings at its research site. The energy performance of this residential-type installation will be analyzed and will prove highly useful in a context where we are observing an increasing uptake of solar technology by citizens, businesses and institutions.

Acquisition and installation of the solar panels were made possible by financial contributions from Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) offered by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Quebec Ministry of the Economy, Science and Innovation (MÉSI), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).