SOLAR ELECTRICITY GUIDE IMPLEMENTING AND EXPERIENCING PHOTOVOLTAICS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Photovoltaics offers unique opportunities to produce (solar) electricity in the urban environment. There is in fact hardly any other renewable energy technology with such a potential in the urban context. This can make photovoltaics increasingly interesting when considered in the local urban design as well as in the local energy portfolio. Subsequently, photovoltaics can considerably contribute to sustainable development on a local level. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, municipalities and the related professional sector play a crucial role. This is why the European project PV City Guide targets municipalities as well as professionals and institutions on a local level in order to highlight the opportunities and the key issues to be taken into consideration in individual applications. Moreover, PV City Guide makes indications and recommendations how strategic urban policies can be developed in order to increase the use of photovoltaics. Most crucial has been the interaction and exchange of knowledge and experience among the partners and municipalities being and getting involved in photovoltaic implementation. Here, some more material results of this project - mainly the Solar ElectriCity Guide - are presented both on the European and on different national levels.