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Conergy opens 8 MW park in Germany

German photovoltaics manufacturer, Conergy has opened an eight megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Grimmen, near Germany’s Baltic Sea coastline. Around 35,000 Conergy PowerPlus modules were used in the installation, which is spread over 20 hectares.

Conergy chose the opening event to make the case for expanded PV application to Germany's rooftops.

Conergy AG

While the German photovoltaic industry can take considerable pride in the world record production of over 22 gigawatts (GW) of clean electricity on one day over the weekend, a new eight MW solar power plant has been opened. The part is located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the country’s northeast.

Grimmen town and regional officials were present at the ceremony to open the plant, where the point was made that the new installation will supply residents in the local area, meaning that long distance transmission lines are not needed. The new photovoltaic power plant will approximately 60 percent of the Grimmen communities power demand.

The new power plant was partly funded by private investor, Stephan Johannsen, who has been actively involved in driving renewable-energy investments for some time. Johannsen has also invested in two large photovoltaic power plants in Tarp and Hörup, also in northern Germany. Johannsen has also invested in 10 Conergy rooftop power plants, with a total capacity of around two MW.

The potential of increased rooftop photovoltaic development was an issue picked up by Conergy at the power plant opening. "To supply the whole of Germany with solar power would require approx. 5,000 square kilometres. The area provided by roofs in the republic alone amounts to 2,800 square kilometres," said Stefan Balbierz, Conergy’s Managing Director in Germany. "Germany’s solar future therefore lies on the roof."

Conergy supplied not only the photovoltaic modules to the Grimmen power plant, but all of the components installed at the park. The company also acted as general contractor.