The demand for large-scale PV installations is growing worldwide. Intersolar Europe shines a light on technologies, trends and markets.
Munich, March 08, 2012 – Newly installed photovoltaic capacity reached all-time record levels in 2011, and PV plants with an output of over 200 kilowatt peak (kWp) occupy a rapidly growing share of the market. Europe holds the number one spot for plants of this size, though other markets are hot on its tail: New large-scale projects are currently being planned in the U.S. and Canada that are set to test the bounds of what is technically feasible. The main factor driving this development is that of cost, as it generally follows that the larger a plant is, the lower the costs are per kilowatt of rated capacity. This is also the reason why countries such as China and India, as well as fledgling markets like South Africa and South America, are increasingly turning to large-scale PV formats. Dynamic development in this field therefore features among the central topics of the exhibition and the accompanying Intersolar Europe Conference 2012. The conference will take place in parallel to Intersolar Europe from June 11-14, 2012 in the International Congress Center (ICM) of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre. On June 12, international experts will spotlight the latest technologies, most interesting markets and the political contexts of these markets over the course of a day in the PV Power Plants panel discussion.
According to the latest figures from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) in Brussels, photovoltaic installations with a total capacity of 27.7 gigawatt peak (GWp) were put into operation during 2011, three quarters of them in Europe. The key markets were Germany and Italy, each adding around 7.5 GWp of capacity. With new installations totaling 2.2 GWp, China became the world’s third largest PV market during 2011.
Large-scale PV plants play an ever increasing role in these figures: Even back in 2010, over 2,400 large-scale photovoltaic installations were commissioned, and this number steadily continues to grow. But it is not only the number of such systems that is increasing – the size of the installations themselves is also on the rise. Multi-megawatt plants especially are a case in point, with more being connected to the grid during the past few years than ever before. Eighteen percent of commercial PV power plants already have an output of between 20 and 100 megawatt peak (MWp), with ever larger projects expected for the future. Currently the largest photovoltaic project is the Agua Caliente installation in the district of Yuma, Arizona/USA, which has a planned capacity of 290 MWp and is due to be completed by 2014. Construction has also begun on the California Valley Solar Ranch near San Luis Obispo, California/USA. A rated capacity of 250 MWp is planned for this installation.
