Zerbst PV Park Opens

GETEC green energy AG will jointly realise a 46 MWp solar plant. GETEC AG is the lessor of the complete land and GETEC green energy AG is the investor of the first section of the solar park, namely Zerbst I, amounting to a capacity of around 9 MWp. This first section will be officially opened in Zerbst town in Saxony-Anhalt today. Dr. Reiner Haseloff, Premier of Saxony-Anhalt, symbolically turned on the switch to start the flow of electricity generated from solar energy. 'The new solar power plant is 'Saxony-Anhalt pure'. It stands for a climate-friendly energy supply in this State and for strengthening the domestic solar and environmental sector,' Haseloff said during the opening ceremony on the site of the former military air base in Zerbst. More than 200 guests followed the invitation and were welcomed by Dr. Karl Gerhold, spokesperson of GETEC Group.

The Zerbst solar park encompasses five sub-projects with a total output of 46 megawatt-peak (MWp), making it one of the largest solar parks in Germany. The first section, PV Zerbst I, has an output of approximately 9 MWp. GETEC green energy AG commissioned Q-Cells for the construction of the solar park.

The photovoltaic park is being constructed on the site of a former military air base in the city of Zerbst, Saxony-Anhalt, with a total area of 108 hectares. GETEC AG is the lessor of the land. With the planned capacity of 46 MWp the Zerbst I-V solar park as a whole corresponds to the annual demand of around 11,500 households (based on average annual consumption of 4,000 kWh per household). Producing climate-friendly solar electricity at this location reduces annual CO2 emissions by approximately 25,000 tons. The photovoltaic park is slated for completion in September 2011.

GETEC green energy AG is a member of GETEC Group, which builds power plants for the generation of energy from renewable sources. 'With the solar park in Zerbst, we make a contribution to the transition in energy supply already today. Not only is generating electricity from renewable energy sources especially environmentally friendly, the decentralised power production also makes us more independent of global energy markets and saves natural resources,' so Chris Döhring, CEO of GETEC green energy AG.

'We are pleased to realise the Zerbst solar park in cooperation with GETEC. Not only are we prepared to implement the remaining sub-projects, we can also provide long-term support for the solar park as a whole,' said Nedim Cen, CEO of Q-Cells SE. 'The professional planning, realisation and support of solar parks is amongst our core competencies. In addition to our know-how, we count on our high-quality solar modules for such tailor-made solutions.'

Q-Cells employs optimised, standardised system solutions for solar parks in order to guarantee high electricity yields for the operator, reduce the construction time and minimise ongoing operating costs. The Zerbst solar park also follows this design principle. It took less than two months to construct the first section. Formerly used by the military, the air base in Zerbst is a good example for the effective transformation of disused sites with a sustainable usage concept, illustrating how unused areas are reintegrated into nature and used for economically beneficial purposes.