One of the most recognizable icons of Barcelona at the beginning of the 21st century will soon have to undergo an operation to catch up. The City Council plans to undertake next year the restoration of the Fòrum photovoltaic pergola, a first-generation installation, to replace damaged or obsolete elements and to increase, by applying the latest technologies, its energy production capacity.
Cristina Castells, director of Energy and Environmental Quality of the Barcelona City Council, has confirmed to La Vanguardia that the large plaque installed for the celebration of the Universal Forum of Cultures in 2004 will undergo an update that will basically consist of replacing the old modules for others that will increase the efficiency of this energy generating infrastructure.
A report prepared for the Barcelona City Council by Sulmag engineering, a specialist in the design and installation of photovoltaic solar systems, points out that, especially in the last three years, the Fòrum pergola has presented various problems in its operation: breakage of the surface glass of the modules that have produced humidity and leaks in the ground, deterioration of the connection boxes, delay in the response time to resolve incidents due to accessibility problems to the installation, and storms such as Gloria that caused landslides of modules and connection boxes. The location of the large plaque next to the sea and the intense salinity of this space accelerate its deterioration, although the truth is that the installation, now almost twenty years old, has passed the passage of time and erosion with flying colors. The useful life of the latest generation facilities is around 25-30 years.
The Fòrum pergola has a nominal power of 375 kW and a peak power (maximum) of 443.52 kW. With the planned update, another 185 kW peak can be added. The technical report to which this newspaper has had access points to three possible future scenarios. The first would consist of the sale of the power increase at market price. The power equivalent to the current remuneration system would maintain the premium established by the State for this type of installation and the power increase obtained would be marketed at market price.
The second scenario contemplated is that of allocating the expansion of power to self-consumption through the network. This option would require interconnection to the medium voltage network. As of Royal Decree 18/2022, which allows the distance for connection of shared plants to be increased to 1 kilometer, and which is expected to increase to 2 kilometers, shared self-consumption with municipal buildings from the resulting expansion could be carried out. In this case, it would be necessary to incorporate an exclusive transformation center for the photovoltaic solar plant and a new measurement center, which would imply a notable increase in the cost of the project. The third scenario, without having to invest in a new medium voltage infrastructure, presents a mixed formula: sale of surpluses and self-consumption of part of the power expansion.
The characteristics of the Fòrum pergola, in a way a modern sculpture, make more substantial modifications to the installation unfeasible, such as an increase in its surface. The pergola, a 35-degree inclined plane that rises up to 50 meters above sea level and is visible at a distance of up to 30 km, has a surface similar to that of a football field.
