E.ON already has a pipeline of over 300 MW of photovoltaic plants in France and Italy and is constructing, with its partner Abengoa, two 50 MW Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants in southern Spain.
"Using our energy expertise and project management skills we are looking to drive our solar business from boutique to industrial as we do with our wind business," said Christophe Jurczak E.ON Climate & Renewables Director of Solar PV. "Working with partners like SunPower, Phoenix Solar and others we aim at bringing costs down and increasing efficiency".
In Italy E.ON Climate & Renewables is now building four PV plants with a combined capacity of 16 MW.
Two plants, located in provinces of Taranto and Alessandria, will start operations by the end of 2010. These two plants are using polycrystalline photovoltaic modules and will have a combined capacity of 9 MW.
Two additional plants in the provinces of Pavia (3.4 MW) and Viterbo (4 MW with trackers) are both due to start operations in spring 2011.
With more than 50 MW expected to be in construction by mid 2011, E.ON is quickly growing its PV capacity.
The global market for solar power will continue to see rapid growth in the coming years. The International Energy Agency estimates that global PV capacity could reach over 210 GW by 2020 of which over 70 GW will be utility scale and commercial PV farms.
E.ON is one of the world’s leading power and gas companies. With annual sales of more than EUR82 billion and over 88,000 employees, it is already one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies.
E.ON Climate & Renewables, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, is responsible for E.ON Group’s global renewables and climate protection activities. E.ON is investing € 8 billion in renewable generation and climate protection projects between 2007- 2012, and will play a leading role in the development of the renewables industry worldwide. E.ON currently has 3.6 GW of renewable capacity in operation which makes the company a leading global renewable energy player.
E.ON will accelerate its climate-protection efforts: it now plans to halve the specific carbon emissions of its power generation in Europe by 2020 from a 1990 baseline, ten years earlier than previously planned.
Founded in 1985, SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB) designs, manufactures and delivers the planet’s most powerful solar technology broadly available today. Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on the company’s experience and proven results to maximize return on investment. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. For more information, visit www.sunpowercorp.com.
Phoenix Solar AG, which has its headquarters in Sulzemoos near Munich, is a leading international photovoltaic system integrator. With total revenues of EUR 473 million, the Group achieved an EBIT of EUR 12.2 million in the financial year 2009. The company develops, plans, builds and takes over the operation of large-scale photovoltaic plants and is a specialist wholesaler for complete power plants, solar modules and accessories. The Group is a leader in photovoltaic system technology.
It focuses on the consistent lowering of system costs. With a sales network throughout Germany, and subsidiaries in Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, Australia and the United States of America, the Group currently has a workforce of more than 350 employees. The shares of Phoenix Solar AG (ISIN DE000A0BVU93) are listed on the official market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the TecDAX, Deutsche Börse AG’s technology index.
