The 3.3 MW power station at Serre in Italy, is currently the largest photovoltaic power station in the world.37 The state utility ENEL started polling in 1990, procurement of materials started in 1992 and the building was completed in December 1994. The station is divided into 10 x 330kW sub fields. It covers a land area of 70,000m2 with 32,000 m2 for modules. Annual energy production is 4,600 MWh. The photovoltaic modules have 32 or 72 cells. There are 46,000 modules equivalent to 2.6 million individual solar cells. The final cost is estimated to be $8/Wp. Estimates for replication are given at $6.74/Wp however Natale Caridi of ENEL has also estimated that $9/Wp as the cost for future multi-megawatt power stations.38
California - 2.2MW and 0.5MW stations
This is a 2 MW photovoltaic power station completed in 1986, with an additional 214kW added in 1995. No costs have been cited for this project, but the Hedge substation of four separate fields totalling 524kW was installed at a cost of $6.68-7.70/Wp over the period 1993-96.39 These project are part of Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s programme to install 10MW of grid-connected PV by 2002, and to make photovoltaics "cost effective in these applications by about the year 2000".
| Previous | Index | Next |