Top 5 Power Plants

Invention: Top 5 World's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants

As of April 2009, the top 5 world's largest photovoltaic power plants in the world are :
1. Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (in Olmedilla de Alarcón,Spain, 60 MW)Completed September 2008. The plant uses 162,000 flat solar photovoltaic panels to deliver 60 MW of electricity on a sunny day. The entire plant was completed in 15 months at a cost of approximately 530 million US dollars at current exchange rates. Olmedilla was built with conventional solar panels, which are made with silicon and tend to be heavy and expensive.
2. Puertollano Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 50 MW)2008 Renovalia developed this power station in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, housing an energy park with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts (MW). The power generated here is equivalent to the annual domestic consumption of electricity of about 39,000 households. The energy produced here will replace a theoretical discharge of 84,000 tons of CO2/year or, 2.1 million tons of CO2 over the 25 years during it’s production. Source: El Economista
3. Moura photovoltaic power station (Portugal, 46 MW)Completed December 2008 The Moura photovoltaic power station is located in the municipality of Moura, in Alentejo, Portugal, which is one of the sunniest regions in Europe and also one of the most economically depressed. Its construction involves two stages, with the first one being constructed in 13 months and completed in 2008, and the other will be completed by 2010, at a total cost of €250 million for the project. The power station will have an installed capacity of 46 MWp, counting a total of over 376,000 solar panels. Almost 190,000 panels (32 MW) are fitted on fixed structures, 52,000 (10 MW) on single-axis trackers, which follow the sun across the sky, and a further 20 MW of power capacity will be added during phase two of the project. It will occupy an area of 320 acres (130 hectares), producing 88 GWh of electrical energy per year. Source: Wikipedia
4. Waldpolenz Solar Park (Germany, 40 MW).550,000 First Solar thin-film CdTe modules. Completed December 2008 Waldpolenz Solar Park, which is the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic (PV) power system, is built in on military air base to the east of Leipzig in Germany. The power plant is a 40-megawatt solar power system using state-of-the-art thin film technology. 550,000 First Solar thin-film modules are used, which supplies 40,000 MWh of electricity per year. The investment cost for the Waldpolenz solar park amounts to some Euro 130 million.
5. Arnedo Solar Plant (Spain,36 MW).Completed October 2008 The plant produces an impressive 34 GWh every year, which will power 12,000 households and prevent 375,000 tonnes of CO2. The facility sits on seventy hectares and houses 172,000 panels. The project’s budget was around €180,000,000. La Rioja, a Spanish region known for its wine, already covers 62% of its electricity with renewable sources.
Source: Solar Insure