Canopy project at the Barcelona-Catalonia Circuit

Installation of a solar canopy with built-in electric vehicle charging at the Circuit de Barcelona-Cataluña to promote sustainability and green mobility.

Summary

The Circuit de Barcelona-Cataluña, recognized as one of the leading racing circuits in Europe, installed an innovative solar canopy with built-in electric vehicle charging. This initiative, the first of its kind in the sector, promotes sustainability, reduces the carbon footprint and promotes green mobility both inside and outside the circuit.

Description

The Circuit of Barcelona-Cataluña, located in Montmeló, is famous for hosting important national and international car and motorcycling racing events. Aware of the need to adopt more sustainable practices, the managers of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalonia decided to implement an innovative solution to reduce its environmental impact and promote electric mobility.

The PVS2 canopy was installed in one of the most iconic areas of the Circuit de Barcelona-Cataluña, next to the old farmhouse known as Mas La Moreneta. This canopy features 42 solar panels that capture the sun's energy and turn it into electricity. In total, the photovoltaic modules generate 16.8 kWp, which is largely used to supply the EV charging stations integrated into the structure itself.

Capacity

The photovoltaic canopy has the capacity to house six electric vehicles simultaneously, and offers three RVE-WB2M SMART chargers with a total of six, 7.2-kW type-2 outlets. In addition, a DLM power management system was implemented that optimizes the use of the electricity generated and provides efficient control of charging operations, by allowing the maximum number of vehicles to be charged as quickly as possible.

The project has popularized electrical mobility among visitors and circuit personnel. Assuming an average of 5 hours of sunlight a day and an average EV consumption of 16 kWh, this canopy will allow an EV to travel 525 km a day using nothing but solar energy.

Impact

The impact of this canopy, plus the panels located on the roofs of the various buildings in the complex, has been significant. First, the dependence of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalonia on the conventional electricity grid has been reduced, which resulted in considerable savings in terms of electricity consumption. In addition, the canopy installation alone has avoided 6,279 t of CO2 emissions per year, reducing the release of greenhouse gases associated with electricity generation.

Monitoring

In order to monitor and view the data of the different photovoltaic installations and the electric vehicle charging points available in the Circuit de Barcelona-Cataluña, an iPVMonitor energy manager was also installed. This equipment provides real-time information on the performance of the different facilities, photovoltaic production, consumption of both buildings and charging points, and it can store historical data to conduct periodic analyses.

Conclusions

In short, the installation of a solar canopy with built-in electric vehicle charging at the Circuit de Barcelona-Cataluña was successful in promoting sustainability and green mobility. By generating solar energy and integrating electric vehicle charging stations, the carbon footprint has been reduced, significant energy has been saved and the users of the circuit have been encouraged to adopt electric mobility. This pioneering project demonstrates the commitment of the Circuit de Cataluña to innovation and to caring for the environment.