What is believed to be the world’s largest Sanyo HIT solar panel based PV farm has commenced operations in the Apulia region in Italy.
Located in Torre Santa Susanna, the solar farm has a 7.56 megawatt capacity; enough to provide for the electricity needs of 3,300 homes.
The project was a collaborative effort between Deutsche Bank, EST – Energie & Solar Technik GmbH, dean Solar GmbH and Sanyo.
The solar farm isn’t Deutsche Bank’s first foray into renewable energy. "To date, Deutsche Bank has overseen more than 50 large-scale projects around the world with a total capacity of more than 850 megawatts. The majority of these projects are onshore and offshore wind parks as well as solar installations," said Bernd Fislage, the company’s Global Head of Asset Finance & Leasing.
The AUD$54.17 million facility incorporates over 32,000 Sanyo HIT solar panels and covers an area of 19 hectares. The solar modules are mounting on tracking systems that following the sun across the sky throughout the day in order to maximise solar energy harvesting. Expected output for the solar farm is 13.3 million k kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
The Sanyo HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer) solar panel is a hybrid solar module that combines a thin monocrystalline silicon layer encased in ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers. The latest HIT models from Sanyo provide solar cell efficiencies of up to 21.2% and an overall panel efficiency in the region of 18.6%. Efficiency percentages in relation to solar modules refer to the amount of sunlight hitting a panel that is converted to electricity.
The Sanyo HIT has also been a popular choice for high performance commercial and home solar power systems in Australia; not only for its efficiency and abilities to perform well in high temperatures, but its smaller footprint that allows for more solar electricity to be generated from less roof space area.
