CEZ Group has developed a new solution to provide solar photovoltaics in unstable underground areas from the center of conveyor belts previously used in strip coal mines. Several piles of steel construction have already been placed in the reclaimed area near the Bilina mine in the north of the Czech Republic.
May 28, 2024 Patrick Jowett
Czech utility CEZ Group has developed a new solution for protecting solar panels in unstable underground areas such as landfills, tailings ponds and other uncertain areas.
It involves the use of the central part of the conveyor belts used in coal mines. Engineers at Prodeco, part of the CEZ Group, are developing prototypes using old mining equipment, particularly the steel structure that forms the central part of the belts.
“We used the central parts of the conveyor belts, which offer great advantages: they are strong because they are designed to work with heavy loads and they have side rails that are currently used for cross-country transport,” the company said.
Luboš Straka, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Proedco, said that the center sections of the conveyor belts offer great advantages because they are designed to handle heavy loads and have side rails that are currently used for cross-country transportation. “This makes these structures suitable for any unstable underground or environmentally loaded subsurface, as they rest only on the surface, are extremely stable and offer a non-invasive method of constructing photovoltaic power plants,” Straka said.
CEZ says that if solar panels were installed on uneven terrain with standard construction, they would clog and crack. By using old steel structures from conveyor belts, the structure bends as a whole after the extracted material settles, so the stress does not affect the solar panels.
CEZ says thousands of these modules will be available at its Bilina mine in the northern Czech Republic after coal mining ceases. Experts have tested the results and several pilot structures have already been placed in the reclaimed area near the Bilina Mine extraction site.
“The positive news is that the performance of the solar panels has not decreased,” said Jan Kalina, head of the Renewable and Conventional Energy Department at CEZ Group. “For unstable subsurfaces, it will be more appropriate to use technologies other than conventional silicon panels, such as thin-film panels without silicon elements, where the semiconductor is applied directly to the glass. “Choosing the ideal technology is now the subject of further development.”
CEZ aimed to create renewable sources with a capacity of up to 6 GW by 2030.
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