News

AstroPower Announces Spanish Solar Power Plant to be Built

April 30, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

AstroPower Inc. (Newark, DE) announced that its Spanish joint venture, AstraSolar, has been chosen to supply advanced APexä solar cells for a 13MW solar electric power plant to be built in Murcia, Spain. When completed, AstroPower claims that the power plant will be approximately four times larger than any photovoltaic power plant currently in operation, and will cover an area equivalent to 57 soccer fields.

A consortium formed to construct and operate the project includes Atersa (Spain), Iberdrola (Spain) and a group of private investors. The consortium intends to capitalize on various incentives offered by the region of Murcia, the Spanish government, and the European Union.

The project plan calls for a construction period of approximately two years and a total cost of approximately $65.0 million. The solar power plant is designed to generate up to four percent of the total peak load for the Murcia region, which has one of the best solar resources in Spain. For the Murcia project, AstraSolar will supply advanced large-area APexä solar cells based on AstroPower's patented Silicon-Filmä technology.

Fernando Monera, president of Atersa, commented, “This project demonstrates the leadership position of the Spanish industry within the rapidly growing European market for solar electric power."

Dr. Allen Barnett, president and CEO of AstroPower, added, “We take great pride in our partnership with Atersa. We are very pleased that our AstraSolar joint venture has been chosen to supply the core component of this ground-breaking project."