Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

France’s biggest PV power plant one step closer

A 33 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power plant, in Curbans, France is one step closer to completion with Spanish mounting system manufacturer Grupo Clavijo finishing its stage of the installation.

Curbans, in the picturesque PACA region, will house France's biggest photovoltaic plant. Image: Flickr/Toprural.

The installation took 15 months with the array covering over 130 hectares of land, the equivalent to 130 football fields.

The project, which was initiated by GDF Suez, was first announced in February 2010. At the time of the Curban project’s announcement, GDF Suez had a portfolio of 200 MW of photovoltaic installations.

This stage of the project cost €80 million and employed 80 people. 25 of the jobs created were new.

Yingli Green Energy announced a contract to supply the modules for the project in May 2010, at the same time announcing that Spanish company Maetel will provide the engineering and procurement services (EPC).

Curbans is in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur or PACA region where, it was recently announced, Phoenix Solar will provide the EPC for two 12 MW photovoltaic plants.