Solar panels installed in remote Arctic community to power green energy transition

euronews (in English)

Norway has installed the world’s northernmost ground solar panels in its Svalbard archipelago, despite the region being plunged into darkness from early October until mid-February every year.

Transcript

00:00 It's being billed as the world's most northerly solar panel station.

00:05 Despite being in darkness for half the year, the test project on Norway's Svalbard archipelago

00:11 has begun providing electricity to a remote former shipping radio station that now serves as a tourist site.

00:18 The 360 panels should provide the station, which is just 1,300 kilometers from the North Pole,

00:25 with about half of its energy needs.

00:28 Putting up solar panels at the Eastview radio in the Arctic might not sound like a good idea

00:33 because we have the dark season where it's completely dark.

00:35 Of course it will not produce anything then, but in the light season, in the summer,

00:40 we have the sun up 24 hours a day and we also have a bigger albedo, that's reflectability of the light in the air.

00:48 And also the low temperature here gives better efficiency on the panels.

00:53 Remote Arctic communities are often reliant on diesel generators that have heavy CO2 emissions.

01:00 If this project is successful, it will point the way for other isolated far northern regions

01:06 to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.

01:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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