The wave of interest in solar power across Europe has now touched Greece, and in a big way. The Mediterranean country of over ten million inhabitants plans to construct Earth’s biggest solar farm. Estimated to cost €600 million ($822 million), the project will cover 1,285 acres of depleted coal mines in the northern city of Kozani.
Greece remains in the midst of financial crisis, with high unemployment and monumental debt. Hoping to spur economic growth and create jobs, Greece is seeking an outside investor for its state-run solar project. Investment in renewable energy is a key long-term strategy Greece is using to lift itself out of a years-long recession.
The solar project at Kozani will also lesson Greece’s dependence on lignite coal, a heavily-polluting energy source that accounts for about half of Greece’s generated electricity.
Total output of the completed solar installation is estimated to be 200 megawatts (MW). Germany is expressing interest in purchasing some of the new Greek solar power. The German government is actively trying to step away from nuclear power and is seeking alternatives to energy sources from politically unstable countries. Greek Prime Minister Georges Papandreou promised 10,000 to 15,000 MW of solar energy to Germany in a recent press conference. Papandreou will visit Germany later in the month to formally discuss the issue with German leadership.
There is also talk of a joint Greek-German project to build up to 49,400 acres of photovoltaic farms at a cost of €20 billion ($27.4 billion). This ambitious project would produce anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 jobs in struggling Greece.
The world in 2010 added 16 gigawatts of new solar power, a number that is expected to be surpassed by the sum of 2011 projects.
Molim vas gde se u Grčkoj, na kojoj adresi i po kojoj ceni u maloprodaji mogu kupiti solarne ćelije 125x125mm, 156x156mm kao i koliko iznose poštanski troškovi slanja za Niš,Srbija. U očekivanju na vaš odgovor unapred se zahvaljujem. Sa poštovanjem: Dragoljub Radojković <argument-niš@yahoo.com
You do solar a disservice by not specifying which sub-type of solar this is. There are 14 utility-scale solar farms in California that are between 150 MW and 1,000 MW and lots more in the EU.
These alone are far bigger than this “BIGGEST SOLAR IN THE WORLD!”.
your source says “an initial 21 teams to advance to the next bidding phase on Greece’s 200MW Kozani solar PV plant.”
See that? This is Solar PV (photovoltaic).
You should point out that it is solar PV – PHOTOVOLTAIC – solar, that is the least used in utility-scale solar. Most utility-scale solar is CSP, or solar thermal, or trough, or mirrors, with or without storage.
When you just say generic “solar”, and call a small project the world’s largest, you make it seem as if solar is not getting very far if a 200 MW farm is the biggest in the world, when coal plants are routinely 150-250MW.
CSP, etc solar plants are much larger. PLease point out to your readers that only solar PV is little used at that scale, though, obviously, the only type for rooftop electricity.
You do know that Greece is likely to default on it’s debt. Nothing is going to be build in Greece for the foreseeable future. Even if they are bailed out they still don’t have any money to fund anything.
The solar farm is still being planned though: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-14/greece-pushes-1-4-billion-in-solar-investment-to-boost-economy.html
The article says they are looking for an outside investor and that the Germans have expressed an interest in purchasing the power. So it’s possible even with the Greeks’ financial troubles.