Solar installation in the French Alps survives nearly 50 years

A 5 kW solar photovoltaic installation located at the Evettes refuge in the French Alps has remained operational for nearly 50 years. Situated at an altitude of 2,594 meters in the Savoie region, the system has provided electricity in a remote high-mountain environment where conventional grid connections are difficult to implement.

Commissioned in 1979, the installation consists of 70 square meters of collectors and 452 cells. The storage system utilized 120 lead-acid batteries with a total capacity of 144 kWh. The refuge itself, inaugurated in 1971, was designed as an experimental high-mountain shelter using metal structures associated with engineer Jean Prouvé.