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FRIDAY 16 NOVEMBER, 2012 |

REC Completes Two Solar Farms In Germany

by Energy Matters

REC solar panels - solar farms in Germany

REC has announced details of two recent solar projects in Germany, which combined will generate over 15 million kWh of clean electricity a year.

The first is a 3.8 MW solar power plant in Schongau. Consisting of 16,560 REC solar panels and using SMA solar inverters, the facility will generate enough power for 1,500 households.

In Schependorf, an 11 MW REC-based solar has been constructed on a former gravel plant. That installation will produces 10.8 million kWh of electricity annually - enough to meet the average annual electricity needs of more than 3,600 households.

Despite the decrease in feed-in tariff rates in Germany, REC Senior Vice President Systems Terje Pilskog says large scale solar power plants remain a profitable investment opportunity.

One of the reasons cited for REC being selected for the Schongau project was due to the power output achievable by its Peak Energy Series panels relative to space - all the modules were installed in an area of just 5.5 hectares.

It used to be the case that polycrystalline solar panels were considerably larger than mononcrystalline modules, but this has changed in the last couple of years due to advancements in polycrystalline technology. REC solar panels now also challenge mono modules in performance efficiency and temperature coefficient characteristics.

REC panels ranked first overall for energy yield in Photon Laboratory’s 2011 Module Field Performance Test, producing six percent more energy than the test average under real-world conditions.

While 2012 has been challenging for solar panel manufacturers with many going to the wall, REC has maintained a leading position in revenue generation and in market capitalization with less debt than many in the industry the firm says. REC states large distribution deals in India, Japan and Indonesia have put the company in a very strong position for 2013 and beyond.