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Project

Lieberose Solar Park (Germany)

August 2009

Lieberose Park, Germany's largest solar park, and the world's second biggest, was inaugurated on Thursday on the site of a former Soviet military training ground in the east of the country. The Lieberose park south of Berlin covers 162 hectares (400 acres), the equivalent of more than 210 football pitches, and is due to be fully operational later this year, organisers said. German companies have been at the forefront of solar technology although this year they have begun to suffer heavily at the hands of Asian competitors, particularly from China, who can produce much more cheaply. Germany is counting on renewable energies like solar and wind to meet its international commitments on reducing carbon emissions and to enable it to stop using nuclear power by 2020. The amount of power produced at Lieberose shows the scale of the challenge -- it will produce enough for 15,000 homes, compared to the 6.5 million households supplied by the Biblis nuclear plant in western Germany.

The Lieberose Solar Park, situated in eastern Germany south of Berlin, will have a capacity of 53 Megawatts by the time it is completely finished by the end of the year, making it the world's second-largest solar energy-generating installation. The plant is operated by Juwi and the approximately 700,000 solar panels are manufactured by U.S. solar panels maker First Solar.

The world's largest solar park is in Spain (2009). The Lieberose park solar power station at a glance:
- Capacity: approx. 53,000 kilowatts
- Area: 162 hectares (over 210 football fields)
- Module surface area: approx. 500,000 m² approx. 700,000 thin filmmodules (First Solar)
- Annual yield: around 53 million kWh (corresponding to the annual consumption of around 15,000 households)
- CO2 saving: approx. 35,000 tonnes per year

About the juwi group: The juwi group (www.juwi.de) was founded in 1996 by Matthias Willenbacher and Fred Jung. The CEOs together transformed the company from a two-person operation focusing on wind farm project development into an internationally active group with around 500 employees and an annual turnover of more than 400 million euros. As well as solar power and bioenergy, juwi also specializes in wind and water power, and geothermal energy. To date, juwi has installed more than 300 wind turbines producing a total output of over 450 MW, while in the solar sector, juwi has set up around 800 PV systems with a total capacity of more than 220,000 KW as of December 2008. Willenbacher and Jung also share a common goal: energy supply from purely regenerative sources - 100% dedication to 100% renewable energies. The "100% renewable" campaign embodies this goal. About First Solar: First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor technology and provides comprehensive PV solutions that significantly reduce solar electricity costs. By enabling clean, renewable electricity at competitive prices, First Solar provides an economic and environmentally responsible alternative to existing peaking fossil-fuel electric generation. First Solar PV power plants operate with no water, air emissions or waste stream. First Solar set the benchmark for environmentally responsible product life cycle management by introducing the industry's first comprehensive collection and recycling program for solar modules. From raw material sourcing through end-of-life collection and recycling, First Solar is focused on creating cost-effective renewable energy solutions that protect and enhance the environment. For more information about First Solar, please visit www.firstsolar.com. For First Solar Investors: This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with the company's business involving the company's products, their development and distribution, economic and competitive factors, and the company's key strategic relationships and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First Solar assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

Source: First Solar, Inc. and juwi Group

Article from Renewable Energy World
August 21, 2009
New PV Giant for Germany

The Lieberose solar farm under construction in Turnow-Preilack, near Cottbus, Germany has became the country's biggest photovoltaic power plant with a rated capacity of 53 MW. "Solar farms such as Lieberose are very important for the future of all of the renewable energies. By their size and the efficiency with which the solar panels are produced, they contribute to significantly lower prices and to accelerating the advent of competitive solar electricity.

This clearly increases the acceptance of solar energy," Stephan Hansen, First Solar managing director Developed by Germany-based juwi Group and First Solar Inc. the project currently comprises 560,000 thin-film solar modules mounted across the 162 hectare site. As general contractor, juwi partner juwi Solar GmbH is responsible for planning, logistics, supervising construction and delivering the finished solar farm, which is expected to be sold to an investor upon completion. Lieberose is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2009. Upon completion, about 700,000 thin-film modules, predominantly from First Solar's nearby Frankfurt/Oder factory, will be operating at the former military base.

The project is being developed on the largest former military training site of the Soviet army in Germany. Due to the relatively low investment and operating costs, it is possible to pay the local Brandenburg authorities an attractive lease that finances the restoration of the site, including the removal of metal and soil contaminated by leftover grenades, shrapnel and munitions. After the end of the lease period, the solar farm can be removed, restoring the land to its natural state. "Solar farms such as Lieberose are very important for the future of all of the renewable energies. By their size and the efficiency with which the solar panels are produced, they contribute to significantly lower prices and to accelerating the advent of competitive solar electricity. This clearly increases the acceptance of solar energy," said First Solar managing director Stephan Hansen.

Documents

Lieberose Case Study (989 kb)