Results from the first full year of Vienna's metro station PV system

A new, foil-based photovoltaic (PV) system is being tested on the roof of a Vienna metro station by Wiener Linien. This kind of PV system is much lighter than the conventional one because of the lack of a metal frame. The green energy is directly fed into the stations’ energy grid, wth the system being used to power metro station auxiliaries. The trial started on 14th January 2020 and is being continuously monitored.

The PV system, with a nominal power of 60 kWp, generated 58.377 kWh green energy in the first full year of operation; that is 5.7% of the station’s yearly energy consumption. The generated green energy is up to 10% of the metro-station’s monthly energy demand in Spring and Summer months. On the strongest days, the PV system can supply up to 50% of the station’s energy need.

Regarding the feasibility, the Wiener Linien pilot project covers all obstacles (e.g. weight, electrical earthing) other potential locations of mobility providers equally struggle with. Due to the excellent experience at this metro station, Wiener Linien is currently investigating other metro stations for the possibility of installing a PV system. The goal is to install a PV system on as many stations as possible, to use as much green energy as possible for powering the auxiliaries of the stations. But from the financial aspect, Wiener Linien will use conventional PV-Systems where possible, as its costs are still lower.

The original article was published on the Interreg EfficienCE webpage on 16 March 2021.