Juwi Commissions Largest Bifacial Solar Power Plant In Europe

Wörrstadt, Germany / Athens, Greece - Power generation from new photovoltaic systems is increasingly reaching power plant level. Renewable energy specialist Juwi has now connected the largest bifacial solar power plant in Europe to the grid in Greece.

Greece wants to significantly expand renewable energies by 2030 and is focusing in particular on the use of wind and solar energy as part of its Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). The commissioning of a large-scale PV power plant brings the Greek government a major step closer to this goal.

Photovoltaics: 200 MW solar power plant in Greece goes on stream

With the commissioning of a power plant-scale solar park in the Greek city of Kozani, Juwi has made an important contribution to the conversion of energy production in Greece. The 204-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power plant was now handed over to Greek energy company Helpe in the presence of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According to Juwi, Kozani is the largest PV power plant in Europe using bifacial solar modules. It is located about 500 kilometers north of Athens.

Jinkosolar supplies solar modules - more than 1,500 full-load operating hours

In total, the Kozani project is composed of 18 project sites, which add up to a module capacity of 204 MW. Module manufacturer JinkoSolar supplied more than 500,000 bifacial solar modules. The solar power plant will generate 320 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually and feed it into the power grid. This means that the plant will have a full load of around 1,570 hours. The electricity generated can be used to supply more than 75,000 Greek households, and around 300,000 tons of CO₂ emissions will be avoided each year.

Use of solar energy in Greece

The use of photovoltaics in Greece has recently gained significant momentum again. According to the Association of Photovoltaic Companies (SEF), PV systems with a capacity of 3,288 MW (2019: 2829 MW) were connected to the grid in Greece at the end of 2020. The highest solar power feed-in to date in Greece occurred on March 26, 2022, with 2,735 MW (an all-time high), according to data from European grid operators (Entsoe).

The Greek government plans to vigorously expand renewable energy by 2030. By that time, nearly two-thirds of electricity is to come from renewables. Plans include more than doubling solar capacity to over 7,000 MW (7 GW). This is based on the Greek Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).

Source: IWR Online, 08 Apr 2022