Isra-Mart srl:Greece plans "world's biggest" solar farm

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Greece's largest electrical utility will soon kick off the search for a partner to help it build what is being hailed as the world's largest photovoltaic (PV) solar farm.

Public Power Corporation (PPC) today announced it will shortly issue a tender to find an international strategic partner to build a 200MW photovoltaic solar park in western Macedonia and an accompanying factory to build the solar panels for the site.

The €600m project is expected to produce 260,000 MWh, saving 300,000 tons of carbon emissions per year, PPC said in a statement.

According to Bloomberg, PPC chief executive Arthouros Zervos wants to choose a partner this summer, and the entire project is slated to be finished in mid-2012.

The Athens-based firm expects the project to create about 200 permanent and 350 temporary jobs in the northern part of western Macedonia, which has the highest unemployment rate in Greece.

"This is a great step toward the fulfillment of a viable energy policy for our country, as well as a new growth prospect for the local community," Zervos said.

Prime minister George Papandreou, who reportedly frequently attends seminars on green growth and progressive governance, has said he is keen to build a low-carbon economy to help Greece overcome its crippling financial problems.

The economy is forecast to contract for a third year in 2011, shrinking three per cent, before returning to growth in 2012.

However, PPC's 200MW plant is unlikely to remain the largest solar PV site in the world for long, as NRG Energy today confirmed it is on track to build a 290MW plant in Arizona, which will be switched on in 2014.