53MW Solar Panel Built at
German
German renewables
company Juwi Holding and US solar module manufacturer First Solar have
secured financing for a 53-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) power plant
near the German city of Cottbus.
On
completion, the PV power plant comprising some 700,000 modules, is projected
to be the largest in Germany producing enough power to provide the annual
electricity needs of more than 14,000 homes and the second largest
worldwide (the first is 60MW at Olmedilla, Spain).
More than
80% of the required project capital is financed through non-recourse debt
from a consortium of banks. First Solar and Juwi intend to sell the majority
of the project after its completion.
Construction of the project began in January 2009, and the first 15MW has
been completed. The remaining 38MW is scheduled to be completed by the end
of 2009.
The project
is being built on 162 hectares of land that is part of the former Soviet
Army Lieberose training area in eastern Germany.
The state
of Brandenburg is leasing around 300 hectares of land to the plant operator
so that the area can be used for the generation of clean
solar power
for over 20 years.
The sheer
size and mass production of efficient solar modules mean that they are
bringing down the price and make a significant contribution to ensuring that
power from solar plants will soon be competitive. This increases our
determination and the acceptance of solar energy, says Lars Falck, managing
director of Juwi Solar.
The Juwi
Group, which was set up in 1996, has around 500 employees and an annual
turnover of more than 400m.
As well as
solar power and bioenergy, Juwi also specializes in wind and water power,
and geothermal energy. To date, Juwi has installed more than 300 wind
turbines producing a total output of over 450MW, and has set up around 800
PV systems with a total capacity of more than 220,000 kilowatts.
First Solar
manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor technology, which
it says significantly reduce
solar electricity costs.
Resources:www.solar-part.blogspot.com
