ENDESA to install 100 MW of photovoltaic solar energy in spain
Madrid, 29 November 2006
Source: press release
http://www.endesa.es/Portal/
Collaboration agreement signed with ISOFOTON, the leading Spanish manufacturer of solar panels, which will ensure ENDESA’s equipment supply needs
* The agreement additionally contemplates the participation of both companies with the regional government of Andalusia in a polysilicone plant, the seventh in the world, which will guarantee the supply of this raw material for the manufacture of photovoltaic modules. ENDESA will supply the power required to operate the plant.
* The agreement also provides for collaboration on several projects designed to demonstrate concentrating photovoltaic technology (CPV), which will subsequently facilitate the manufacture of more efficient solar modules.
ENDESA has signed a collaboration agreement with ISOFOTON, the producer of photovoltaic panels, with the aim of ensuring that ENDESA has access to the equipment required to develop the solar powered facilities that the Company plans to install between now and 2011.
Representing ENDESA at the agreement signing were Manuel Moran, General Manager for ENDESA Generation and Martin Madrid, Director of Horizontal Projects, while from ISOFOTON, Alvaro Ybarra Zubirea, Chairman and Jose Luis Manzano, CEO, were present.
The agreement also provides for collaboration on several projects designed to demonstrate concentrating photovoltaic technology (CPV), which will facilitate subsequent commercialisation.
These new concentrating systems represent a new departure and offer an alternative to current silicone based technology, the material used in solar cells. The semiconductor material used is gallium arsenide which, because it collects and focuses sunlight via a series of lenses, creates more energy over a smaller surface area.
In addition, ENDESA, ISOFOTON and the regional Andalusian government plan to collaborate to develop and construct a polysilicone plant in Los Barrios (Cudiz), in response to increased demand for this raw material, key to the production of PV modules and which will guarantee both companies’ supply needs. Development on this project, named Silicio Energia, will commence in the coming months and the facility will be operational in 2009. Estimated investment in the project totals Euro 250 million to give polysilicone capacity of 2,500 tonnes/year, equivalent to 250 MW of PV modules per year. ENDESA will supply the power required to operate the plant.
The agreement between both companies will act as a boost to photovoltaic solar energy in Spain and will enhance environmental awareness as it will increase the production of renewable energy, in addition to contributing to meeting Kyoto Treaty commitments.
ENDESA