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Renewable Energy News

MONDAY 24 AUGUST, 2009 |

Germany's Largest Solar Farm - 560,000 Solar Panels

Consisting of over 560,000 solar panels and with more to come, the Lieberose solar farm being constructed in Brandenburg has become the world’s second largest solar farm and Germany’s biggest.

Germany-based juwi Group and First Solar Inc are the companies behind the massive installation that has attracted a total investment volume of more than a quarter of a billion Australian dollars.

The solar farm has a power generation capacity 53 megawatts and occupies an area of land larger than 210 soccer fields. By the time construction is completed at the end of this year, the Lieberose plant will have approximately 700,000 thin film solar panels.

The plant has enough power generation capacity to meet the electricity needs of about 15,000 households and will help save about 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide emssions per year, compared to coal fired generation.

Germany is a global leader in solar power, largely due to the country's generous feed in tariff program that pays a premium rate on all electricity produced by solar farms and home solar power systems. Germany is the world's top solar panel installer, accounting for almost half of the market in 2007.

In Australia and with the exception of the ACT, feed in tariff programs are currently all based on a net model, meaning only surplus electricity attracts the premium rate. The system is fractured, with each state having its own program, or none at all.

Greens' Senator Christine Milne tabled amendments to the recently passed Renewable Energy Target bill that would have seen a gross, uniform national feed in tariff program for Australia, but those amendments were voted down by the Government and Coalition.

Special deals and discounts on solar power

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Latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices

The latest Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness indices see China climbing three points in the "all renewables" index to tie with Germany, following the Chinese government's announcements of increased support for solar panel based energy production.

Chinese 2020 targets for solar power have risen to 9GW, which is 75 times the current solar capacity of about 120MW. Chinese wind power capacity is also rapidly building after the recent increased capacity targets of 100GW by 2020.

Even with the recent news of an expanded Renewable Energy Target for Australia, Ernst & Young are not anticipating a significant shift in Australia's global position.

The expanded RET translates into 10.6 GW of new generation capacity by 2020, assuming a capacity factor of 35%. However, the current development pipeline for wind alone already has >14,000 GW of projects projects either at the evaluation stage (exploring feasibility), development stage (seeking planning approvals), or under construction. According to the company, this suggests that legislation is merely playing 'catch-up' with the renewable energy investment market.

Ernst and Young Renewables Index August 2009 Ranking:

( ) figure indicates previous ranking.

1 (1) - US
2 (2) - Germany
2 (3) - China
4 (4) - India
5 (5) - Spain
6 (6) - Italy
7 (7) - UK
7 (8) - France
9 (9) - Canada
10 (9) - Portugal
11 (11) - Ireland
12 (12) - Greece
13 (12) - Australia
13 (14) - Sweden
15 (15) - Netherlands
15 (15) - Poland
17 (17) - Denmark
17 (17) - Belgium
17 (17) - Norway
20 (20) - Brazil

The Renewables Index includes onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, biomass/other, geothermal and infrastructure. The Ernst & Young country attractiveness indices provide scores for national renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies. The indices provide scores out of 100 and are updated on a regular basis.

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News for Friday 21 August, 2009