A consortium of mainly German companies is planning to develop a 116 MW solar power station in Portugal’s southern Alentejo region, it has been reported. At a cost of around €426 million, the project would reportedly be financed by special renewable energy investment funds set up by international banks and would consist of 116 hexagon shaped photovoltaic arrays.
When built the grid connected site, covering 250 ha, will be the world’s largest solar generator and with 1,890 kWh of sunshine per square metre a year, the parched and thinly populated Alentejo region is one of the most promising areas on the continent for solar power.
The largest pv solar installations currently are of the order of 10 MW in capacity, although a 15 MW system is being developed in South Korea.
Although the Portuguese Environment Ministry has granted consent for the project regulatory approvals are still required before the 5-year construction project can begin.