World's Largest Solar Photovoltaic Plant is Planned

According to a report from Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX), French renewable energy company EDF Energies Nouvelles SA (EDF-EN; Paris, France) has revealed that it intends to build what could be the world's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near the city of Metz in eastern France.

The new plant is planned for a 415 hectare site that was previously a NATO air base. The site is located at Toul-Rosieres in the Lorraine province. According to an EDF-EN spokesman, the province was not chosen for its potential solar radiation, but because France had decided to increase solar energy tariffs for energy companies in less sunny regions to encourage investment in those areas.

As a result of its previous use by NATO, the site contains about 100 military buildings that must be removed, which will also involve removal of asbestos building materials. Construction of the facility is expected to provide employment to 150 people, and a full-time staff of 15 will be required when the plant becomes operational. EDF-EN is expected to begin accepting proposals for the general contractor position in the second half of 2011. The plant is expected to be completed in 2013.

Although no details on the construction schedule or type of PV panels have been released, it is interesting to note that EDF-EN and First Solar Incorporated (Tempe, AZ) signed a contract in June 2009 to build France's largest solar panel manufacturing plant. Under the agreement, First Solar will build and operate the plant, while EDF-EN will purchase the entire output from the plant for the first 10 years.

The proposed plant will have a generating capacity of 143 MW of electricity. This would make the plant the world's largest solar PV plant by far, exceeding the current leader in Olmedilla, Spain, which has a production capacity of 60 MW.

However, several other solar PV plants are under development in other areas of the world, which could claim the title of the world's largest PV plant. In the U.S., the $100 million Teanaway Solar Reserve in Washington state has a planned production capacity of 75 MW and is scheduled to become operational by 2011.

The 143 MW of power to be produced from the Metz site will quadruple the solar PV power generation in France, a country that is heavily dependent on nuclear power for its energy production. However, France has a long way to go to catch up with other European countries when it comes to PV power. Spain, for example, generates 1,671 MW of solar PV energy, while Germany produces 1,505 MW.

Larger than either the U.S. or French PV sites was the proposed Australian Mildura Solar concentrator PV power plant in Victoria, with a planned capacity of 154 MW and a development cost of about $378 million. Expected to begin operations in 2013, the project received a severe setback late last year when developing company Solar Systems Pty Limited (Abbotsford, Victoria) was placed into administration. However, the recently planned acquisition of Solar System's assets by Silex Systems Limited (ASX:SLX) (Sydney, Australia) has revived hopes for the project.

Unlike the French or U.S. projects, the Mildura project was designed to use curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto PV modules, allowing greater power output per square meter of PV surface, while reducing maintenance costs and land area required.

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