25.03.2014
The Scandinavian-German manufacturer Innotech Solar (ITS) equips The Falcon School, located in Cyprus’ capital of Nicosia with photovoltaic modules. The installation is an innovative direct coupled system whereby the load consumer, in this case a water filtration system, is directly connected to the PV modules and as such is an off-grid solar installation. This ensures maximum power yield. In Cyprus, a maximum of 33,000 euros of funding is provided to cover 40% of the total costs of off-grid projects with a commercial use. The PV installation is expected to save the school around 25,000 euros in energy costs every year.
Boasting 20 kWp, the installation provides enough solar power to filter the private school’s 700-cubic-meter swimming pool. The solar installation meets the filtration system’s entire electricity demand, which up until now has represented a huge expense for the school. While Innotech Solar delivered 80 EcoPlus modules, each with an output of 250 Wp, the solar project was built by EcoEnergia Cyprus, a company pioneering the way in the field of renewable energy in Cyprus. The installation was put into operation at the beginning of this year.
“Even with the incentives out of the picture, savings in electricity costs will cover the amount invested into the solar installation within two years. The solar filter system being directly coupled operates whenever the sun is shining, meaning we didn’t need to install a battery storage system, despite it being off grid. As each kilowatt hour of solar power generated is used immediately, avoiding battery losses, this was a particularly interesting project for us,” reports Vasilis Vasiliou, managing director of EcoEnergia. “As an EPC company, we decided to use exclusively European premium-quality materials in our installations. The modules of Innotech Solar are completely manufactured in Europe, have outstanding temperature coefficients and are compliant with our high quality requirements.”
“EcoEnergia is an extremely experienced and professional company and a very reliable partner for us. It’s great to see how different technologies can be used in order to minimize the costs of electricity generation. This project proves that PV is competitive with conventional sources in different countries and market segments and highlights the importance of using reliable, high-quality components in a system,” explains Emanuele Paese, Head of Sales & Marketing Europe at Innotech Solar.
A multitude of tests by independent experts, such as the Fraunhofer Institute, Photovoltaik-Institut Berlin and PV Lab, have demonstrated the high performance, durability and positive environmental impact of Innotech Solar modules.
Source: Innotech Solar/innotechsolar.com