The project is one of the largest solar power projects ever to be undertaken in this region. The solar park will be installed on a 19-hectar former clay pit that has been declared a commercial conversion area.

Bad Staffelstein / Grimmen,

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On October 15 Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Grimmen PV. park in her role as the Bundestag member for the Nordvorpommern district, thereby officially marking the start of the construction. The turnkey solar power plant, to be installed by photovoltaic. specialist IBC SOLAR, will feature a rated power of around seven Megawatts/peak (MWp) and provide approximately 2,200 households with green energy, while saving 3,644 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The project is one of the largest solar power projects ever to be undertaken in this region. The solar park will be installed on a 19-hectar former clay pit that has been declared a commercial conversion area.

Independent reports from both the renowned Fraunhofer Institute ISE and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerd Becker from the University of Munich indicate that the historical township of Grimmen receives a high irradiation level of 980 kWh/kWp, despite its location in the northern part of Germany. As a result, the region is well-suited for the use of photovoltaic systems. The 30,480 polycrystalline solar modules that IBC SOLAR will install in the upcoming weeks are expected to produce a total of 6,239,256 kWhAbbreviation for kilowatt-hour. 1 kWh = 1000 W over a time period of one hour. It is equivalent to 3.6 million Joules, or the amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of 100 litres of water by 10 °C. of electricity per year. The area previously served as a clay pit. IBC SOLAR leased it from Grimmener Ton & Umwelt GmbH & Co. KG. The land is not suited for agriculture or the residential construction, but thanks to the solar park, the soil will have 25 years to regenerate and become fertile again. The mounting systems will be driven into the ground, and not anchored to a cement foundation. This technique will make the park even more environmentally-friendly.

The installation is set to be completed within the upcoming weeks, so that the solar park can be connected to the grid in 2010. The turnkey construction of the solar park will be carried out by IBC SOLAR. IBC SOLAR Invest GmbH took care of the acquisition and project development. As soon as the solar park is operating, IBC SOLAR will be responsible for its monitoring. The company selected Grimmen as the location for the operating company. As a result, the city of Grimmen stands to benefit from business tax revenue generated by the park.

Udo Möhrstedt, founder and CEO of IBC SOLAR, explains: “In this region it’s still early days for photovoltaics, at least compared to what’s happening in southern Germany. The region is brilliantly suited to both wind energy and the generation of solar power. The city of Grimmen is setting a great example with their decision to go ahead with the solar park. We hope to encourage other cities and towns to take advantage of the opportunities presented by photovoltaic technologies. IBC SOLAR is always on the lookout for suitable sites for the production of environmentally-friendly energy.”

Source: IBC Solar