Despite temperatures of as low as minus 40 degree Celsius coupled with only a few hours of sun in the Arctic winter, German PV manufacturer SolarWorld has supplied more than half a megawatt of solar modules to ice-covered Greenland over the last couple of years.
The world's largest island's only solar installer, Jesper Christensen from LED Solar Greenland, uses the SolarWorld modules in small, decentral solar power systems designed for electricity self-consumption.
"Despite the arctic winter with few sun hours a day, solar power pays off over the year," Christensen said.
"I install highly efficient SolarWorld modules, which yield a good return even in weak light conditions and last long."
The company says its modules have been undergoing climate chamber tests to make sure they can withstand strong polar wind loads thanks to robust aluminum frames and special security glass.
PV on Greenland represents a clean and affordable alternative to diesel oil for the island's 56,000 inhabitants, SolarWorld claims.
"The solar power systems in Greenland are probably the northernmost area where our modules are producing energy. Even in ice deserts, our modules shine by their longevity and their exceptional load-bearing capacity," an enthusiastic SolarWorld chief executive Frank Asbeck says.
Kalaallit Nunaat, as Greenland is called in the language of the native Inuit, is struggling hard with the effects of climate change with the ice melting, glacier fjords shrinking and the sea level rising.
Although the big emitters of greenhouse gases are located elsewhere, Torben Christoffersen, sales engineer at the Danish distributor Lemvigh-Müller, which is a key supplier and distributor of SolarWorld PV modules in Denmark and Greenland, stresses the positive effect of solar power in the fight against climate change.
"Photovoltaic is the solution to stop climate change and fulfill global climate targets," he says.
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