GM plant in Spain to have world's largest rooftop solar power plant

08 July 2008

Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices, today said that it would provide the solar electric system for what the world's largest rooftop array, on a General Motors assembly plant in Zaragoza, Spain. The project will be 12 megawatts, a huge number in a field where most arrays are measured in kilowatts.

The ambitious solar power project has brought together Veolia Environnement, world leader in environmental services, the energy developer Clairvoyant Energy and the Government of Aragon, Spain in the construction of the world's largest capacity rooftop solar power station.

Veolia Environnement and Clairvoyant Energy are building a solar power station with a capacity of 10 Mega Watts at GM's Zaragoza plant, which assembles more than 480.000 vehicles a year. As part of the scheme initiated by GM, the rooftop power station will be owned and operated by a joint-venture company comprised of Veolia Environnement, Clairvoyant Energy and the Government of Aragon.

Annual output from the photovoltaic solar power station at Figueruelas near Zaragoza is expected to be 15,1 million kWh, sufficient to meet the demand of 4.600 households with an average annual consumption of 3.300 kWh.

Operational at the end of September, 2008, the rooftop power station will feed electric current into the local grid of Red Electrica and sell the energy to Endesa.

The massive solar array designed by Veolia Environnement and Clairvoyant will consist of 85.000 light-weight solar modules with an active photovoltaic surface area of 183.000 square meters and provide for an annual reduction in CO2-emissions of 6.7 thousand tons.