Conergy completes Great Britain?s largest solar power plant

The Conergy Group has completed Great Britain’s largest solar power plant. The 5 MW free-field park is situated in Hawton, near Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire. The “fast-track” project was built in cooperation with Conergy’s local partner Lark Energy and was completed only six weeks after receiving the planning consent on the May 24, 2011.

Conergy’s Robert Goss: “Largest UK solar park completed in record time”

“The solar energy project was clearly a race against time to meet the deadline of July 31, 2011 – but we made it, even more than two weeks beforehand thanks to our brilliant solar expert team”, says Robert Goss, Head of Conergy UK. “The deadline was imposed by the recent review of the Feed in Tariff incentive payments for large-scale solar projects that are to be slashed by 72%. All parties showed great determination to support this exciting project which will be one of a very few large solar projects installed in 2011.” The installation covers a total area of 14.6 hectares. There are 21,600 Conergy PowerPlus modules on approximately 40 kilometres of Conergy SolarLinea mounting systems were installed. Annually, the premium modules will produce 4,860 megawatt hours of clean electricity – enough to supply 1,300 homes.

Hawton community supports renewable energy

The local residents supported the green project from the beginning on: A community research conducted prior to the installation showed that 100% of the respondents generally favoured the idea of solar energy as a clean, renewable energy solution with no emissions. 92% of those who came to an open event in March 2011 supported the Hawton solar park. “I am sure in time this could be a major opportunity for renewable energy to prove to be a major benefit”, concluded one respondent.

In order to celebrate the successful completion of this project, there will be an inauguration event on Monday 01 August for the local community, media and other stakeholders.

“The Hawton park is yet another landmark project for Conergy in the series of their large free-field solar parks all over the world”, says Robert Goss. “With this park, our solar experts have shown that we are able to build large-scale projects also in the UK, even though our core business and focus is and will be on roof-top installations. This is due to the FiT cuts on the one hand and due to our product portfolio and experience ‘on the roof’ throughout Europe on the other hand.”

The market trend proves this to be right with a clear focus on small roof top installations: Since the introduction of the FiT in April 2010, 27,000 solar installations have been registered according to the British Photovoltaic Association. 91% of these are on domestic roofs. Conergy provides the right products here, too: The high-quality PowerPlus modules make the most out of the roof surface area since they perfectly fit the local light and weather conditions as well as the need of the customer for a secure long-term investment.

Only Conergy delivers solar energy systems from a single source. As a system manufacturer, Conergy produces all components for a solar installation and offers all services under one roof.

With its modules, inverters and mounting systems, the solar expert creates Conergy System Technology, which is efficient and synchronized solar energy systems for private or commercial rooftops, as well as for multi-Megawatt Parks.

Conergy System Services deliver a “Worry-Free Package” for Conergy solar installations – from “A“ for architectural planning to “Y“ for yield insurance and “Z“ for zero trouble. Conergy’s experts not only install on-site turn-key solar projects, but they also manage the planning and financing, project implementation, system monitoring, operation and on-going maintenance of the project for maximum performance. With this comprehensive technology and service package, Conergy offers yield insurance for its installations.

Conergy System Sales brings Conergy premium products to nearly 40 countries. From “A” for Australia to “T” for Tunisia – the solar expert supports homeowners, installers, wholesalers and investors in their efforts to “go solar”. With sales activities on five continents, Conergy has close relationships with all its customers. In 2010, more than half of Conergy’s sales were generated outside of Germany.

Listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange, Conergy employs more than 1,700 people worldwide. Since Conergy’s founding in 1998, it has produced and sold more than 1.5 GW of clean solar energy. Thus, in 2010 Conergy solar installations have generated almost as much power as a nuclear reactor.

www.conergy-group.com