The roofs of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao have been equipped with 300 photovoltaic panels. Thanks to this new installation, the museum is moving towards an annual self-consumption of 80 MW. The solar panels will allow it to save 5% of its annual consumption and obtain enough energy to light the exhibition rooms.
Installing solar panels on the museum’s historic building (1997) required the approval of architect Frank Gehry. A careful selection of the design and color of the solar panels was made to blend the installation into the undulating, metal structure of the building. The panels were placed on two rectangular roofs that are not visible from the street. “Preserving the architectural uniqueness of the building was a major challenge in the implementation of this project, and all the details were approved by the architect Frank Gehry and the city of Bilbao”the museum explained.
With the new solar panels, an emission of more than 16 tons of CO2 will be avoided, the equivalent of planting 800 trees. The energy transition project began in January 2024 with 90 photovoltaic panels installed in the museum’s outdoor warehouse. The first panels installed covered 30% of the electricity demand and 100% of the warehouse’s electricity needs on sunny days.
The solar panels of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
Courtesy Guggenheim Bilbao
The installation of the new solar panels is part of the museum’s 2024-25 environmental sustainability plan. The institution is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030. The 300 panels were financed by NextGenerationEU, a European investment fund.
Solar panel technology is evolving and seems increasingly suited to the aesthetic requirements of heritage properties. New “building integrated photovoltaic” (BIPV) panels imitate the historical architecture of buildings (tiles, slates, bricks and even stained glass) to blend into the structure. This is the case of the Pompeii Archaeological Park where solar panels in the shape of terracotta tiles were installed on the roofs of the Villa of the Mysteries in 2023, explains Euronews.
