The Greek subsidiary of juwi, the German renewable energy project developer, has started construction of Europe's largest bifacial solar park. Using bifacial modules will increase the energy yield of the 450-hectare Kozani solar park by up to five per cent. The regenerative power plant is scheduled to be connected to the grid at the end of 2021. It will then supply 300 million kilowatt hours of climate-friendly electricity per year - enough to supply 75,000 Greek households with electricity. The investment volume is 130 million euros.
"This is another milestone for the juwi Group and for our Greek subsidiary, as the Kozani project is the largest single project to date in the company's almost 25-year history," said Stephan Hansen, member of the juwi Management Board, commenting on the start of construction. "We have always believed in the Greek renewable energy market. The Kozani project reaffirms this perseverance and once again underlines the enormous potential of solar energy - not only in Greece, but all over the world."
Up to 10 per cent more yield
Takis Sarris, Managing Director of juwi Hellas, added: "Solar energy is already the most cost-effective form of electricity generation in Greece. The technology based on bifacial modules further reinforces this development. We can now generate more electricity in a smaller area at even lower costs.
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Bifacial PV modules use solar energy on the front and back of the module. This makes them more efficient and ultimately means that more electricity can be generated on the same land area. The concept is not new, but the technology has recently been refined. It is not only more efficient, but also more inexpensive compared to conventional PV modules. Since the modules can also convert reflected and diffuse light into electricity, they can - depending on the conditions - achieve an additional electricity yield of up to ten per cent compared to conventional modules.
With the Kozani project, juwi secured 47 per cent of the awarded tender volume at the state renewable energy auction in April 2019. In total, projects with a combined volume of 635 megawatts had participated and 437 megawatts were awarded. In the 30-minute online auction, the juwi Group competed with four other solar projects and one wind project. Earlier this year, juwi sold the project to the future operator, the Hellenic Petroleum Group.
The bifacial solar modules for the Kozani solar park will be provided by Jinko Solar. (mfo)
