Trina Solar has supplied solar modules for the heritage-listed town hall in Hungarian Satoraljaujhely. The power generated from the plant is used for the self-supply of the building with renewable energy. Mono-crystalline Honey M Black solar modules by Trina Solar were used, providing an installed capacity of 42.6 kWp in total.

The mayor of the city initiated of the project with implementation handled by the Hungarian project developer, Manitu Solar Kft.

The particular challenge of the project was in the status of the City Hall as a listed heritage building, which meant that the rules regarding the aesthetics of the PV system were extremely strict.

Trina Solar Honey M modules were used not only to provide a high energy yield even in weak light, but also because of their uniformly dark monocrystalline cells and their black frames and backsheet.

These design elements resulted in attractive looks and an unobtrusive overall appearance - a critical requirement to meet heritage building regulations. Of the total 164 TSM-260DC05A.05 PV modules, 138 were installed on the tiled roof of the building and 26 modules on a flat roof.

The Hungarian PV market has been raring to go for a while now. However, as incentives are not fully developed it is mainly smaller, decentralized PV systems for self-sufficiency that are being implemented - just like the Satoraljaujhely town hall.

Trina Solar serves the Hungarian market out of Germany and cooperates with local solar pioneers such as Manitu Solar, one of the leading PV companies in Hungary. The company has experienced staff who can implement complex projects.

These include the town hall in Satoraljaujhely - not only because of the special nature of the heritage building, but also because the PV system had to be installed while the Mayor's office remained in regular use.

According to press reports, Hungary plans to cover a total of about 15 percent of its primary energy consumption from renewable energy by 2020. By 2011, this figure was still below 8 percent. "The potential of solar energy in particular is not yet exhausted in Hungary by far," says Ben Hill, Trina Solar Head of Europe and Africa.

"The project in Satoraljaujhely shows that solar energy is an attractive and efficient alternative to the power supply for Hungary, and a modern, sustainable energy system may well go hand in hand with traditional architecture."