Cooperation project with the municipality of Lech

In cooperation with the municipality of Lech, students from the FHV's Sustainable Energy Systems master's degree programme tested innovative photovoltaic systems in Lech. The group of students set themselves the goal of demonstrating the potential of photovoltaics in regions with challenging weather conditions and high snow loads. To this end, they have installed two pilot systems: One project is testing a street gallery as a location for a PV system, another the use of bifacial PV collectors. In total, the projects will run for three semesters, from the concept consideration to the final report. The final results will be presented in spring 2025.

Practical application

For the students of the FHV - University of Applied Sciences, the projects in Lech offered the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge to current issues in a practical way. "This is an essential part of the education at a university of applied sciences," emphasizes programme director Anna Knorr. "And projects for which there are real implementation efforts, such as here in the community, mean that students have the chance to see their ideas in real operation soon. This mutual benefit is great."

Expansion of sustainable energy generation

"As a tourist destination that thrives on the Alpine nature on offer, we are particularly aware of the importance of sustainable energy generation. With the Zürsbach small hydropower plant or the PV systems at the building yard and on the sewage treatment plant, we have already implemented a number of projects," emphasizes Mayor Gerhard Lucian. He sees the scientifically sound analysis conducted by the students on the use of innovative PV variants as an important basis for decision-making for the municipality's next efforts. "I am very pleased that future experts are looking into this topic and that we can support this commitment."

The gallery project

The Monzabon street gallery between Zürs and Lech faces west, which means that the concrete pillars would be very favorable for generating solar power. Together with the municipality, the students installed several modules there, whereby it was necessary to find both a suitable arrangement and a suitable mounting option. Where the electricity could then actually be fed into the grid and what structural measures would be required are also important questions. After several interim measurements, the energy yields are very promising - the possibility of scaling up the test system for efficient real operation is currently being examined.

The bifacial modules project

On the roof of the municipality's wastewater treatment plant, the students are testing so-called bifacial PV modules, which generate Energy on the front and back. In a vertical arrangement - as on the test stand in Lech - the module is aligned towards the sun, while the rear simultaneously uses the reflection of the snow-covered surroundings. The measurement results should prove that higher annual yields can be achieved with this type of collector than with standard modules in appropriate alpine locations.

You can find more information about the Master's in Sustainable Energy Systems ▷ here.