The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao joins Iberdrola España's self-consumption programme with 300 solar panels
-
The self-consumption infrastructure of the art gallery is integrated in the two largest roofs of Frank Gehry's building and will allow an annual self-consumption of 80MWh
-
This action will prevent the emission of 16 tonnes of C0₂ into the atmosphere − the equivalent of planting nearly 800 trees
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has joined Iberdrola España's self-consumption programme. The solar photovoltaic facility is made up of around 300 solar panels and will allow an annual self-consumption of 80MWh and a saving of around 5% in the Museum's electricity consumption. In addition, this facility will cover the lighting needs of all the exhibition spaces. The installation has a total power of 80kW.
The solar panels have been located on the two largest roofs of the building in such a way that they are not visible from the street and are integrated into its architecture. The preservation of the architectural uniqueness of the building has been a great challenge in the development of this project. From the design and colour of the panels, in accordance with other elements such as the skylights, to the covering of the corridors between the panels, they have had the approval of the architect Frank Gehry and the Bilbao City Council.
This self-consumption action will prevent the emission of 16 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere − the equivalent of planting around 800 trees.
This infrastructure, executed by Iberdrola España with its installer Bikote Solar and with the collaboration of the Museum's Executive Architect, César Caicoya, is one of the main sustainable initiatives that the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has been carrying out since 2019.
This completes the solar panel project at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao facilities that began in January of this year with the installation of 90 photovoltaic panels in the Museum's external warehouse. These panels are providing an average of 30% of the building's total electricity demand, although on sunny days the panels cover the warehouse's entire electricity needs.
Iberdrola España: Leader in self-consumption
Iberdrola España leads the photovoltaic self-consumption market in Spain. As part of its commitment to accelerating the energy transition and developing new products to improve efficiency and energy savings, in 2015 the company became the first company in its sector to include self-consumption solutions into its range of services.
Self-consumption solar systems can save 30% on annual bills in the case of residents' associations; 50% for companies and businesses; and up to 70% in single-family homes. These savings are produced in three ways: the energy produced by the facility that the user does not have to buy, compensation for the surplus energy not consumed that is fed into the grid, and savings due to lower taxes.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao: A commitment to sustainability
The photovoltaic installation on the roofs of the building is one of the actions included in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's 2024-2025 environmental sustainability plan, which includes a commitment to move towards carbon neutrality by 2030. It is a project financed by the European funds − NextGenerationEU − managed by the Basque Energy Agency.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is the first museum in the world to measure its carbon footprint − including indirect emissions − and to make this measurement public. Since 2022, the complete carbon footprint of all exhibitions, including their logistics and museography, has been calculated. In 2023 the Museum's footprint was 2,561.84 tonnes of CO2 which represents a reduction of 12% over the average annual measurements for the period 2019-2022 due to the various measures that are being incorporated. The ultimate goal is that, by the end of the two-year period, the direct and indirect emissions of all the Museum's activity will be calculated, including events, public programmes, and the restaurant and shop activity.
From 1 June 2024, 100% of the electricity supplied to the Museum will come from sustainable sources, which will reduce the Museum's carbon footprint by more than a third.
The Museum has reduced its gas consumption by 35% and its electricity consumption by 6% since 2022, when it began applying temperature and relative humidity control parameters more adapted to outdoor conditions. Since that year, the Museum has been an international leader in this change in the standards of preventive conservation of works of art, which has a major impact on the CO2 emissions of large museum institutions.
The Museum continues to research and test more eco-friendly materials for the scenographies of the exhibitions. This year, in the small-format Aprendiendo a través del arte (“Learning Through Art”) exhibition, biodegradable paint and 100% recyclable wood fibre boards were used for the first time, with positive results. During this two-year period, different materials will continue to be tested to reuse or recycle all the elements used in the exhibitions’ scenographies.
The Museum will also intensify the use of rental packaging instead of new crates, as well as virtual supervision in the transfer and installation of works travelling between institutions − a technology introduced in 2020 that reduces staff travel.
The Action Plan for 2024-2025 reinforces the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's firm commitment to preserving the environment. In this sense, the Museum is making a great effort to implement technologies and methods inspired by an ecological transition that will help reduce energy and raw material consumption, develop recycling projects and promote activities that contribute to raising awareness among visitors and the community.