2,000 panels at 2,000 meters: New ground-mounted solar plant in Pyrenees overcomes mountain challenges

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Across southern and eastern Europe in particular, where high altitudes are more common, solar parks must reckon with installation challenges and secure extra-reliable components.

With a capacity of 1,55 MWp the FEDA park is the country’s the first utility-scale project, operating at an altitude of 2.000 meters above sea level. Located on terrain with an incline of up to 20°, the photovoltaic plant will produce more than 2 million kWh of renewable energy per year, using PV modules from global solar technology leader LONGi.

The plant’s owner and operator is the main Andorran utility company FEDA. The panels were provided by Grupo Noria, a wholesaler and project management company that is also an authorized distributor of LONGi solar modules in Europe. The solar modules were provided by Grupo Noria’s local brand Novelec.

“Our engineering and project team opted for the LONGi modules because they are known to be very reliable and come with excellent warranty conditions,” says Angel Marrero, PV Product Manager at Grupo Noria.

For the module type LR5-72HBD in use at the new FEDA Photovoltaic Park, LONGi provides a twelve-year warranty for materials and processing as well as a 30-year warranty for extra linear power output. The high level of reliability is especially crucial in mountain regions, where every replacement would result in significant additional costs.

The high performance bifacial solar panels are based on M10-182 mm wafers, which makes them the best choice for large scale power plants.

“We are proud that LONGi modules were selected for this special project. This confirms our strategy of working to always provide the most efficient and reliable solutions on the market,” says Francesco Emmolo, LONGi Sales Director Southern Europe.

The engineering and installation (EPC) on the sloping and rocky terrain was carried out by the Andorran company Tecnisa, using mounting structures by the Spanish Stansol Group. Despite of the area’s challenging conditions, the installation was completed within five months.