The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Romande Energie have joined forces to build a photovoltaic center on the EPFL campus.
Equipped with state-of-the-art R&D facilities, the new center will be commissioned in stages from 2009 onward and will ultimately produce over 2 million kWh of electricity a year, according to EPFL and Romande Energie. The project will cost an estimated CHF 20 million and will be financed by Romande Energie through its subsidiary, Romande Energie Renouvelable.
Part of the solar power station will be used for research and development by the numerous EPFL laboratories active in this field (such as architectural integration of collectors, technologies for thin-film or nanocomposite coated solar cells, and energy storage and distribution).
A new solar photovoltaic installation, which is now the largest of its kind in Switzerland, will be located on the roofs of EPFL buildings.
SOURCES: EPFL, Romande Energie
