Univer Project. A grid connected photovoltaic system of 200kWp at Jaén University. Overview and performance analysis

Nowadays, grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems are very popular in industrialized countries and can even be considered as the most promising PV application. The integration of these systems into urban buildings offers a large potential for cost reduction and can further increase the overall value of urban architecture. According to available statistics, by the end of 2002, more than 1.3 GWp of PV power was installed in industrialized countries world wide, which represents 70–85% of the total world capacity [J. Ohno, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications (2001) 471. [1]]. During recent years, a great number of European projects in the PV sector have been carried out in Spain. The Univer Project  —UNIversidad VERde—is one of these European projects. It consists of four grid connected PV systems of 200kWp fully integrated into the Jaén University buildings, in order to provide the University Campus with more than 8% of its electricity needs, i.e. 210 MWh/year.The aim of this paper is to present a general overview of the Univer Project and the performance analysis of its PV systems during their first phase of operation.