Conergy completes Asia's largest solar plant

SINAN, KOREA: Conergy Korea, subsidiary of Conergy AG, announced a framework agreement for a 4.35 MWp extension (worth approximately € 20 million) of Asia’s largest, recently completed photovoltaic plant (19.6 MWp) in SinAn, southwest of the Korean capital Seoul.

Thanks to the perfect synergy between client DongYang Engineering & Construction Corp. and the renewable energy technology expertise of Conergy, the 19,6 MWp, € 90 million project was fully operational in June 2008, six months ahead of schedule. Based on this outstanding engineering achievement, DongYang appointed Conergy with the turnkey construction of an additional 4.35 MWp. The extension of Asia’s Largest Solar Power Plant to 24 MWp is expected to be fully grid-connected before the year is over marking a major milestone for Korea in becoming a worldwide leader in clean energy.

Jihun Kim, CEO Conergy Korea, said: “Building Asia’s largest solar power plant is a landmark moment for the renewable energy sector in Korea. The success, scale and technical sophistication of the project is a model of how we can lead Korea into a new era of renewable energy production through strong and trusted partnerships between international experience and technical knowledge, Korean construction and engineering expertise, and ambitious local and federal government planning and policy.”

New best-practice engineering and construction standards

Asia and Korea’s flagship solar project broke ground on May 12, 2007. Since then, a highly proficient and dedicated team of 230 people has worked day and night to complete the 19,6 MWp plant in record time. Together with the extension, the completed 24MWp will cover an area of 720,000m2, an equivalent of 96 soccer fields.

Once fully operational, the solar power plant will produce annually 33,000 MWh, enough to supply 7,200 households with environmentally-friendly energy year after year. For the largest single-axis tracking system in the world, 69 Solar Optimus tracker systems developed by Conergy will be installed in SinAn, increasing the energy yield up to 20 percent. The 24 MW solar project alone will help Korea reduce CO2 emissions by 24,000 tons a year.

A spokesman from DongYang Engineering & Construction said: “Considering the scale, high-technicality and speed of delivery of this project, this is a very significant engineering achievement for Korea to celebrate and points to Korea’s potential as a renewable energy producer. Korean companies, working with strategic partners like Conergy, can create a vibrant, dynamic and self-sustaining renewable energy market for Korea to benefit from economically and environmentally.”

Progress of Korea’s renewable energy sector

A key goal of the Government’s 2003 second 10-year National Basic Plan for NRW (New and Renewable) Technology Development and Deployment is to supply 5 percent of domestic energy requirements through renewable and alternative energy sources by 2010, as well as produce 1GW of solar energy by 2012.

Since the introduction of the Government’s feed-in-tariff policy in 2002, the number of photovoltaic installations has increased rapidly. In 2007, 134 photovoltaic installations were connected to the grid, growing 163 percent from 51 installed in 2006. Today, the total amount of commercial solar power production in Korea has grown to over 160MW.

Discussing the significance of this 24MWp plant for Korea, Stefan Mueller, Conergy’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director, said: “Korea’s progress in the development of the solar industry is facing a major crossroads beyond 2009. There are serious concerns within the industry as to whether the changes to the feed-in-tariff policy for large-scale projects will be sufficient to encourage more world-class developments such as SinAn and help reach Korea’s ambitious target of producing 1GW of solar energy by 2012.”

With the price of oil volatile, the announcement is timely in pointing to the future potential of the renewable energy sector in Korea. Meeting Korean solar production targets of 1GW could create 37,000 jobs within a solar ecosystem sector and a leading industry worth KRW 5.3 trillion.