GE Invests, Delivers One of World's
Largest Solar Power Plants, Harnessing Portugal's
Sunshine, PowerLight's Technology
Mar 28, 2007 -- BUSINESS WIRE
SERPA, Portugal Spread across a hillside
pasture amid olive trees, 52,000 shimmering photovoltaic
modules in one of the world's largest solar power
plants have begun generating enough electricity for
8,000 homes, GE, PowerLight Corp. and Catavento SA
announced today.
After eight months of construction and
testing, GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General
Electric (NYSE: GE), PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower
Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) and Catavento dedicated
the 11-megawatt Serpa solar power plant today, on
schedule. The facility -- a model of clean power generation
integrated with agriculture -- is in one of Europe's
sunniest areas, in Portugal's Alentejo agricultural
region in the town of Serpa, 200 kilometers (124 miles)
southeast of Lisbon.
GE Energy Financial Services financed
and purchased the project in an approximately US $75
million transaction last year. PowerLight, a leading
global solar power system provider, designed, deployed,
operates and maintains the plant. The plant uses PowerLight's
innovative PowerTracker(R) system that follows the
sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity
than conventional fixed-mounted systems. Catavento,
a leading Portuguese renewable energy company, developed
and manages the project, which began feeding Portugal's
electricity grid in late January.
Kevin Walsh, Managing Director and leader
of renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services,
said today at a dedication ceremony in Serpa: "This
project is successful because Portugal's sunshine
is plentiful, the solar power technology is proven,
government policies are supportive, and we are investing
and delivering under GE's ecomagination initiative
to help our customers meet their environmental challenges."
Added Andrew Marsden, Managing Director of GE Energy
Financial Services' European Operations: "The Serpa
project is a springboard for other solar power investments
we're pursuing in Europe through project acquisitions,
project finance, development capital and access to
solar modules through GE Energy."
PowerLight CEO Tom Dinwoodie noted:
"The Serpa solar power plant speaks to the green power
initiatives now setting Europe on a course toward
ambitious emissions reductions goals. By assembling
a first-class team of companies in the solar arena,
we've achieved a remarkable renewable energy milestone."
Generating electricity from the sun
with no fuel costs or emissions, the Serpa plant is
on a 60-hectare (150-acre) hillside, equivalent to
the area of more than 80 football fields. The project
supports a European Union initiative by saving more
than 30,000 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions
compared to equivalent fossil fuel generation. The
EU this month agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions
by at least 20 percent by 2020, from 1990 levels.
Portugal relies heavily on imported
fossil fuels, and its carbon dioxide emissions have
increased 34 percent since 1990, among the fastest
rates in the world. To address this, the country is
implementing some of the world's most advanced incentives
for installing renewable energy. The Serpa project
relies on a preferential tariff mandated by the Portuguese
government. Solar power enjoys widespread support
in Portugal, with the backing of 77 percent of the
population, according to a European Commission study
published in January.
At today's ceremony, a 3.7 million euro
(US $4.8 million) contract was signed for a grant
to the project under the Portuguese government's Economic
Modernization Program.
Piero Dal Maso, co-CEO of Catavento,
said the project "serves as a beacon to the world
to show how to overcome challenges of scale and complexity."
Added co-CEO Rui Pimenta: "We hope the government
will clear remaining roadblocks so solar power can
truly radiate across Portugal."
Construction of the Serpa project began
in June 2006 and was completed as planned in January
2007. The facility consists of a ground-mounted photovoltaic
system that uses silicon solar cell technology to
convert sunlight directly into energy. The Serpa solar
power plant incorporates photovoltaic modules from
SunPower, Sanyo, Sharp and Suntech.
About GE Energy Financial Services
GE Energy Financial Services' 300 experts
invest globally with a long-term view, backed by the
best of GE's technical know-how and financial strength,
across the capital spectrum and the energy and water
industries, to help their customers and GE grow. With
US $13 billion in assets, GE Energy Financial Services,
based in Stamford, Connecticut, invests more than
US $5 billion annually in two of the world's most
capital-intensive industries, energy and water. In
renewable energy, GE Energy Financial Services is
growing its portfolio of more than US $1.75 billion
in assets in wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal
power. More information: www.geenergyfinancialservices.com.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work
-- a diversified technology, media and financial services
company focused on solving some of the world's toughest
problems. With products and services ranging from
aircraft engines, power generation, water processing
and security technology to medical imaging, business
and consumer financing, media content and advanced
materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries
and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For
more information, visit the company's Web site at
www.ge.com.
About PowerLight PowerLight is a leading
global provider of large-scale solar power systems,
delivering over a decade of experience and financial
value to commercial, utility, public sector and residential
customers worldwide. PowerLight designs, deploys and
operates the largest solar power systems in the world
through market-leading innovation and exceptional
customer service. For more information, please visit
www.powerlight.com. PowerLight is a subsidiary of
SunPower Corp.
About Catavento
Catavento, Producao de Energia Eolica
SA. is one of the few private and independent Portuguese
renewable energy companies. Its skilled and experienced
team covers all aspects of renewable energy development
- from site selection to licensing, financing, construction,
operation and maintenance. Since 2001, Catavento has
developed 110 MW in Portugal and 225 MW in Brazil.
It owns and operates 23 MW of wind energy through
partnerships and in 2007 will build an additional
28 MW of wind projects. Catavento aims to become an
Independent Power Producer exclusively of renewable
energy and is expanding in other EU countries. For
more information, please visit www.catavento.pt
Editors: TV News B-roll of the Serpa
project is available at http://www.geenergyfinancialservices.com/SerpaSolarPlant/.
Caption for accompanying still photo: This aerial
photograph shows 52,000 photovoltaic modules in one
of the world's largest solar power plants, which has
begun generating enough electricity for 8,000 homes,
GE, PowerLight Corp. and Catavento SA announced.
SOURCE: GE Energy Financial Services
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