Europe's largest solar plant planned for Italy

ROVIGO, ITALY - Italy is set to get Europe's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant, following a deal between the Italian government and SunEdison LLC.

The solar energy provider, which is a division of MEMC Electronic Materials Incorporated, plans to build a 72-megawatt (MW) facility near the town of Rovigo in northeast Italy. SunEdision claimed that the plant will be the largest PV plant in Europe when completed and that power generation will start as early as the second half of this year.

Today, the 60-MW Olmedilla plant in Spain is the largest in Europe, followed by a 50-MW facility in Strasskirchen, Germany, which also involves MEMC. SunEdison was the largest provider of solar-based power in the United States in 2009.

SunEdision said that the new PV plant will be capable of generating enough energy in its first full year to power 17,150 homes, and will offset the equivalent of 41,000 tons of CO2 emissions from a fossil-fuel power plant.

"SunEdison is focused on enabling the growth of global solar markets through strong capabilities in project finance, engineering, low-cost procurement, and operations and maintenance services," said Carlos Domenech, president of SunEdison.

Renzo Marangon, a government official of Italy's Veneto region, where the plant will be located, added: "Veneto is taking decisive action to advance the use of clean, renewable energy sources. At the same time, this project is expected to create over 350 local construction jobs and build expertise in advanced energy technologies. We expect Rovigo to serve as a European model for large-scale, alternative-energy projects."

SunEdison has selected Isolux Corsan, a large-scale infrastructure construction company with a track record in building PV plants, to construct the Rovigo solar farm.

European solar plants are consistently growing in size. SunEdison will not hold the crown of Europe's biggest solar PV plant for long if EDF Energies Nouvelles SA, part of French utility giant Electricite de France, has its way. The company has announced plans to build what will be the world's largest solar PV plant at a former NATO base in Toul-Rosieres, near the eastern city of Metz in France. The planned facility will be capable of generating 143 MW, almost double that of SunEdison's Rovigo power plant, and will provide enough electricity for about 62,000 people.