High-concentration photovoltaics developer Opel International andits Spanish partner, Betasol, have finished the first phase of aplanned four-phase, 440kW utility-grade solar power plant in Tarragona,Spain. This initial 110KW phase is one of the first HCPV installationssupplying commercial electricity to the power grid and is alreadygenerating revenue for Betasol, the partners said.
Theinstallation features dual-axis tracker-mounted Opel Mk-I HCPV panels,which can focus more than 500 suns onto high-efficiency multijunctionGaAs solar cells. The companies expect the remainder of the system tobe completed during the third quarter.
"This installation hasattracted great interest of potential customers in both Europe andAfrica," said Robert Pico, CEO of Opel.
Jesus Cabetas, managing Director of Beetasol, noted that hiscompany's "partnership with Opel using its HCPV panels greatly improvedthe system's efficiency, thus making the rate of return provided by theSpanish feed-in tariff structure even more attractive to investors."