Since 2004, the Swedish Solar Energy Association (Svensk Solenergi) has awarded three categories of the Solar Energy Prize – Ground-mounted Plant of the Year, Building Installation of the Year and Achievement of the Year. The awards go to ” facilities, companies or individuals whose achievements are worth highlighting as good examples to be inspired by”.

In the end of 2023, Sunna Group built a pilot facility outside Luleå called Lilla Norrskenet with vertically mounted panels facing east and west. The pilot plant was built to test an innovative solution for solar energy production in northern conditions and has been designed to reduce losses from snow shading.

– In Norrland, where the new industry consumes huge amounts of electricity, the expansion of electricity production is extremely important. Solar power and Lilla Norrskenet are an obvious part of that process,” says Johan Paradis, CTO at Sunna Group.

The facility, for which Energiengagemang has been the contractor, has an installed capacity of 90 kW and contributes renewable electricity to the local area. The landowners, Alviksgården Lantbruk, utilize the electricity at their facilities where it is used, among other things, for the production of biogas.

We humbly thank the Swedish Solar Energy Association for the award and hope that future results from the park can contribute to more solar energy in the north of the country.

Johan Paradis was present at Svensk Solenergi’s annual meeting and had the honor of receiving the award when it was announced.

Jury statement for the award

“Anyone who wants to build a ground-mounted plant in central or northern Norrland has to contend with several uncertainties. Solar radiation data for these latitudes is limited and of variable quality, while snowfall can cause both production losses and increased loads. By choosing vertical mounting of bifacial PV modules, snow loads and snow shading are minimized.

Snow on the ground can reflect sunlight and thus increase the solar radiation on the solar cells. In addition, vertically mounted solar panels provide a production profile that is more even throughout the day, leaving space to cultivate the soil between the rows of modules. This year’s solar energy prize for the best ground-mounted facility goes to Lilla Norrskenet, by Sunna Group. The winner has taken matters into its own hands and invested in this pilot plant. With its 90 kWp, the plant is large enough to evaluate the potential for electricity production and profitability of large vertical solar parks in Norrland.”

All the winners of the 2024 Solar Energy Prize. Photo: Svensk Solenergi/Johanna Peterson

We also want to take the opportunity to congratulate the winners in the category Achievement of the Year Sunsurf Solar, which has built Sweden’s first floating solar cell plant, and Ivar Kjellberg Fastighets AB, which together with Raymond Solar won the Building installation of the Year. And of course a big thank you to Svensk Solenergi and the jury.

About the Solar Energy Prize

With the Solar Energy Prize, the industry association Svensk Solenergi wants to focus on solar energy and contribute to increasing the power output in Sweden. The aim is to spread knowledge throughout the country about the solar energy industry’s most spectacular projects, thereby inspiring curiosity and creating interest. Therefore, each year the Solar Energy Prize highlights new examples of the industry’s most innovative ideas and developments – driving the technology forward. We also believe in the award’s ability to inform about standardized projects that reduce costs, make the technology more accessible and eventually create a larger market.

Facts Lilla Norrskenet

Lilla Norrskenet near Luleå is a pilot plant to test an innovative solution for solar energy production in northern conditions. The park has been designed to optimize the use of solar cells in Arctic and snowy climates and maximize the potential of solar energy in the north of Sweden. It was built in a short time from procurement to commissioning, which took place on one of the darkest days of the year in December 2023.
Located next to Alviksgården outside Luleå, the facility features vertically mounted bifacial panels in an east and west orientation. The design reduces losses from snow shading compared to traditional tilted panels where snow easily collects and risks to remain for a longer period of time. With fewer issues from snow shading, the park can take advantage of reflections from snow-covered ground during sunny winter days, and during the long days of the summer, there is the potential to produce electricity almost around the clock.

Contact

Marcus Qviberg, CEO Sunna Group
Phone: 073-317 38 76
E-mail: marcus@sunnagroup.com

About Sunna Group AB

Sunna was founded in 2021 with the ambition to increase the amount of solar electricity in the energy system by developing, owning and managing large-scale solar power in the Nordic region. Together with long-term capital partners, Sunna is a sustainable player in the Swedish energy market.
Sunna increases access to green, locally produced solar electricity, which enables faster regional establishment and expansion of companies, as well as support for the electrification of society as a whole. Sunna’s goal is to build 1 gigawatt by 2030 and has now secured permits for a quarter of that capacity. sunnagroup.com