Biel, 12 December 2008. On 28 November the Spanish company Vasolar 2006 S.L. and its Portuguese business partner Cavalum SGPS, S.A. inaugurated four solar parks delivering a total output of eight megawatts in the autonomous region of Extremadura. The tracking systems produce on average 26 gigawatt-hours of energy per year, covering the requirements of about 8,300 households and saving 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
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250 people came to the inauguration, including the mayors of the villages of Fuente de Cantos, La Albuera, Don Alvaro and Montemolín, where the solar installations produce their electricity.
For the tracking systems, operators Valsolar and Cavalum still receive the higher feed-in tariff guaranteed by royal decree RD 661/2007 for solar installations commissioned before the end of September. The decree guarantees a higher payment for installations of up to100 kilowatts. Valsolar and Cavalum have therefore divided the four solar parks into smaller systems, each with an output of 100 kilowatts. They receive 45.51 eurocents for each kilowatt-hour fed into the grid. The four solar parks cost a total of 40 million euros. Valsolar is reckoning on a payback period of 10 years.
When deciding on which inverters to install, Valsolar and Cavalum chose Sputnik Engineering’s 100-kilowatt central inverters. “We know that the devices are good. That’s why we chose SolarMax inverters,” explains Valsolar’s company spokesperson Mónica Martins. In 2008 alone the company has so far installed 70 SolarMax inverters.
About Sputnik Engineering AG
Sputnik Engineering AG was founded in 1991 by Christoph von Bergen and Philipp Müller, since when it has concentrated exclusively on the development, sale and maintenance of inverters for grid-connected photovoltaic installations. Based in Biel, Switzerland, the company offers a wide range of products with its SolarMax series, including string inverters for single residences and central inverters for solar power stations. Thanks to years of experience and continuous improvements, the products incorporate the latest technology and deliver high quality, superior reliability and maximum yield at surprisingly affordable prices.
Sputnik Engineering currently employs 212 staff at its headquarters in Switzerland and its subsidiaries in Neuhausen (Germany), Madrid (Spain), Milan (Italy) and Paris (France). 2009 will see the company increase its headcount to 314 and produce SolarMax string and central inverters generating a total output of 420 megawatts.
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CH-2502 Biel / Bienne
Tel.: +41 (0)32 346 5600
Fax. +41 (0)32 346 5609
sputnik@solarmax.com
www.solarmax.com
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