Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Huge “Project Helios” plant planned for Greece

The International Herald Tribune (IHT) in Greece has reported that a "mammoth" 10 gigawatt (GW) solar plant is being planned for Greece. The project would be driven by investment from Germany.

Greek sunshine could be powering Germany in the future. Image: Conergy.

Rich in sunlight but poor in financial resources, Greece could be set to receive a major economic boost as a solar power producer. The IHT’s ekathimerini website has reported that the Germany’s Deputy Economy Minister Stefan Kapferer discussed the plan with Greek government officials late last week.

The project goes by the name Project Helios and would require an investment of 20 billion euros. The power produced by the plant, which would be almost as much as the total installed capacity of Greece’s main electric utility, may be exported to Western Europe.

The installation would cover 200 square kilometers of public land, and ekathimerini writes of their being "bureaucratic and legistlative obstacles" to be overcome for the project to be realized.

For Greece, where unemployment continues to rise, the Helios scheme could create between 30,000 and 60,000 jobs.

With Germany abandoning nuclear power, in the wake of public opposition to it in light of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, innovative approaches to sourcing renewable power are being explored.

The October edition of pv magazine will include a report on the Greek photovoltaic market.