The largest rooftop solar power station in the world is being built in Spain. With a capacity of 12 megawatts of power, the station is made up of 85,000 lightweight panels covering an area of two million square feet.
Manufactured in rolls, rather like carpet, the photovoltaic panels are to be installed on the roof of a General Motors car factory in Zaragoza, eastern Spain.
General Motors, which plans to install solar panels at another 11 plants across Europe, unveiled the €50m (£39.73m) project yesterday. The power station should be producing energy by September.
The panels will produce an expected annual output of 15.1m kilowatt hours (kWh) - enough to meet the needs of 4,600 households with an average consumption of 3,300kWh, or power a third of the GM factory. The solar energy produced should cut CO2 emissions by 6,700 tonnes a year.
Energy Conversion Devices, the US company producing the panels, said it would be the largest rooftop solar array in the world. Energy Conversion will supply the equipment to two other companies, Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy, which will lease the rooftop space from General Motors and operate the installation. The rooftop power station is also supported by the regional Aragon government.
Guardian
