{"id":291,"date":"2025-10-16T11:40:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.fronius.com\/solar-energy\/?p=291"},"modified":"2025-11-18T08:00:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T07:00:22","slug":"solar-power-in-the-arctic-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fronius.com\/solar-energy\/en\/stories\/solar-power-in-the-arctic-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar power in the Arctic Circle: the northernmost PV system in North America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Producing PV electricity where the sun doesn\u2019t rise for several weeks at a time and where the sea is frozen for around three quarters of the year? What may sound crazy at first is actually possible\u2014not to mention lucrative\u2014with state-of-the-art solar technology. But how? We reveal all in this Energy Story…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Photovoltaic systems are everywhere. From a micro power plant on a balcony or a 10 kWp system on the roof of a family home to a huge solar park, solar energy is no longer the exclusive preserve of \u201ceco-enthusiasts\u201d. Whether in central Europe, Australia, or the remotest regions of Africa, hardly anyone questions the usefulness of PV systems any more. But what about the Arctic Circle? Can photovoltaics also pay off there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe place that never thaws\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To answer this question, we must look to Grise Fiord. The community in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is home to 135 people and is one of the coldest inhabited regions in the world. The hamlet is known as \u201cthe place that never thaws\u201d and was entirely dependent on diesel power plants for its energy before the construction of a 10 kWp PV system. Shipping the fuel for the generators through the North Atlantic effectively doubled the cost of diesel, which has made supplying Grise Fiord with energy a costly undertaking up to now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The sea off Grise Fiord is iced over for nine months of the year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But the expensive transportation costs were not the only problem: with an average annual temperature of around -16 \u00b0C, the waters around Grise Fiord are frozen for almost nine months straight every year. During this time, the settlement cannot be reached by sea\u2014a huge logistical challenge in even just delivering diesel, never mind installing a PV system on the facade of the community center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Difficult journey for personnel and material<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Grise Fiord therefore entrusted Green Sun Rising, a Canadian installer with experience in these latitudes, with installing the new photovoltaic system. \u201cIt was very difficult to coordinate all the deliveries in the extremely short time frame<\/em>,\u201d reports installer Klaus Dohring. \u201cJust getting to the northernmost settlement in North America was complicated enough<\/em>.\u201d Even in good weather, it takes at least three days to reach Grise Fiord after a total of six flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n