Setting new standards in renewable energy design
Antarctica has been described as the coldest, driest, highest and windiest continent in the world. Its ferocious winds, blinding snow storms, localised blizzards, plus life-threatening wind chill temperatures present an ever-present danger and have earned for Antarctica a reputation as the least hospitable continent on earth.
The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth was -89C (-128F) at the Russian research station Vostok in East Antarctica on July 21, 1983. At this temperature steel can shatter and water will explode into ice crystals. It was in this part of the world on February 15th 2009, on a granite ridge rising above the surface of a glacier, that the International Polar Foundation (IPF) officially inaugurated the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station- the very first "zero emission" research platform ever constructed, and the only polar base to operate entirely on renewable energy.
The Belgian government commissioned IPF to build the station to act as a technological showcase and a commitment for a wider understanding of the mechanism of climate change. For Belgian Engineer and polar explorer Alain Hubert, founding president of IPF and director of the Princess Elisabeth station project, as well as for every member of the team, the completion of the research station building during BELARE (Belgian Antarctic Expedition) 2008-09 was a major accomplishment and a major milestone.
As the first emission research station it establishes a new reference model for scientific research facilities and sets new standards in advanced design methodology. An important by-product of the project is that it will also demonstrate that the techniques and technology being used successfully in the extreme conditions of the Antarctic could be a model for both commercial and domestic applications in the more temperate areas of the world.
The Princess Elisabeth research station is relying on renewable energy sources in combination with passive housing techniques, optimization of the station's energy consumption and the best waste management techniques possible to minimise its ecological footprint in Antarctica's sensitive environment.
Solar energy is playing a vital role in providing both the necessities and amenities in the functioning of the station and the lives of those living there. It furnishes about 30% of the station's electricity supply through PV solar panels and in addition, solar energy is providing hot water through solar thermal panels, and part of the building's heat through a technique called passive solar gain.
The 408 PV solar panels producing electricity for the Princess Elisabeth station were supplied by Kyocera Fineceramics. One hundred and twenty of those conventional 150 x 155 mm panels are attached to the walls and roof of the station with the remaining 288 panels installed on top of the station's garages.
Being in the most southern hemisphere, most of the panels are positioned towards the north for maximum sun exposure but some panels will face in other directions to follow the sun's position at various times of the day.
Each solar panel can produce a maximum output of 16% providing a nominal yield of 12 volts. According to early simulations they will yield 45.7 MWh/yr to account for about one third of the station's estimated total annual production of 140 MWh/ya.
For media and press enquiries only, please:
SEARCH THE WEBSITE
