A solar plant, a unique innovation in the cultural sector, has been established at the Eiffel Art Studios of the Hungarian State Opera. The small power plant with a capacity of 320 kW, built on an area of 12 000 square metres, was created with the support of the Ministry of Energy. The ceremony was attended by Attila Steiner, the Ministry's Secretary of State responsible for energy and climate policy.
The small power plant serving the Eiffel Art Studios has been established on the flat roof of OPERA Depot (the bogie hall of the former Hungarian Railways Northern Railway Maintenance and Engineering Works) consisting of 872 solar panels. It now produces electricity worth 10 million HUF per month and contributes to the energy supply of the logistics centre. The institution uses the entire amount of energy produced in the summer months, and manages it internally in the winter months.
At the inauguration, Attila Steiner, the state secretary responsible for energy and climate policy, said that the past year also showed that the availability of energy is not always obvious. Therefore, the implementation of the investment indicates a high degree of foresight.
Szilveszter Ókovács, general director of the OPERA, reminded that the Hungarian State Opera, with its real estate portfolio worth 300 billion HUF and a constructed area of hundreds of thousands of square meters, is probably the biggest consumer of energy in the cultural sphere, thus, its energy problems are also a top priority.
In the future, the OPERA plans to expand the environmentally friendly, innovative investment realized with the support of the ministry up to the upper limit of the legal category, i.e. up to 500 kW.
