BP Amoco Solar Skin
O. S. Bragstadsplass 4
NTNU Trondheim

June 20, 2000       leaflet in English (pdf)     brosjyre på norsk (pdf)

Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Olav Akselsen, today started the production of electricity from the 16kW photovoltaic (PV) plant on one of the buildings at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.

In addition to appearing with a new, attractive facade the building now also generates environmentally friendly electricity. At the same time, the building’s heating requirements are reduced.

"The PV plant is an exciting and future-oriented project. Pilot projects like this are necessary in order to stimulate technological development, and international co-operation is essential for our ability to face the challenges involved in rendering the use of renewable energy more competitive", says Minister Akselsen.

It was BP Amoco that launched the project back in 1997 and assigned the research job to NTNU and SINTEF. The project is just one of several measures initiated by the company as an environmental improvement aid and to develop technologies and solar energy markets. Through its subsidiary BP Solarex, BP Amoco is one of the world’s leading solar energy companies, both in terms of PV panel production and delivery of complete installations.

The PV cells, which cover 192 m², are integrated in a 455 m² double glass facade mounted on the outside of the building’s existing cladding. The solar wall thus becomes Norway’s largest, and is also the only one of its kind. During the year ahead, it will be measured and tested in a number of areas such as power production, heat generation and application of the heated air generated behind the panels.

"We are very pleased with the architectural design and have got a reference structure which we think will attract experts from Norway and abroad," says professor and project manager Øyvind Aschehoug at NTNU, also mentioning that a new aluminium building system has been developed.

"Building Integrated Solar installations provide ‘two bangs for the buck’; they serve as a building component at the same time as they generate electricity used by the building. This ability to substitute conventional building materials has a positive impact on the final customer price. Today and increasingly in the future we will see solar as an important integrated building feature," says Graham Baxter, Vice CEO of BP Solarex. Increased use of solar energy will also contribute to reduced emission of greenhouse gases and may be a noticeable contribution to cleaner air in heavily polluted cities.

Norway too has a market for PV cells integrated in building facades. The greatest advantages are obtainable in the south of Norway, which has the largest number of sunny days. However, it can also be used further north. Trondheim, for instance, has more hours of sunshine than Brussels – not least due to the long, bright summer days.

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