Thin film megawatt class photovoltaic plant inaugurated

- Total output of 1.9 million kilowatt hours each year

- Dr. Otmar Bernhard pointed out the important role of renewables for Bavaria

Hamburg/Mering, November 16, 2006: In Mering near Augsburg, Germany, voltwerk AG inaugurated today one of the world's largest thin film photovoltaic plants, together with the Secretary of State from the Bavarian Ministry of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection. Amongst others, many residents and members of the district council were present. They were able to find out about the economic and ecological advantages of photovoltaic power plants.
The plant, with a total output of 1.78 megawatts, was installed on an area of six hectares by SunTechnics GmbH, a sister company of voltwerk, in a construction period of just three months. Sun-Technics enlisted the help of a total of seven regional partner companies. Over half of the workers involved in the construction came from the Mering region.
Since its completion in July, the solar power plant, which cost around EUR 7 million, will generate around 1.9 million kilowatt hours of solar power each year which will be fed into the public power grid. Over 500 households can now be supplied with environmentally-friendly power all year round for the next 20 years. During this period, this translates to a CO2 savings of 28,500 tons.

In past years, a series of major photovoltaic projects have already been set up in Bavaria, which include many projects from voltwerk AG. At present, over 800 megawatts of photovoltaic energy are installed in Bavaria. With this output, the state holds the leading position in Germany. In his speech, State Secretary Dr. Otmar Bernhard made reference to the importance of renewable energy, especially solar energy, for Bavaria. "It has been many years since Bavaria recognised the potential and need for photovoltaics to ensure a clean and safe future. Bavaria generates around 50 percent of German solar power and in 2005 there were more new installations than in the USA and Japan put together. Bavaria is thus currently the most important photovoltaics market in the world“, declared Dr. Otmar Bernhard. In his speech, the State Secretary also stressed the positive impact of renewable energy on the employment market. Of the 42,000 or more jobs in the field of photovoltaics across the nation, the majority are based in Bavaria.

The Deputy Mayor of Mering, Leonhard Erhard, also declared that the new photovoltaic plant is a real asset for the district in many respects. "As an environmentally aware community, we want to continuously increase our contribution to this ecological and forward-looking means of generating electricity." Further projects, some also with voltwerk AG, are already in the planning stages. "Last but not least, the positive impacts on the economic development of the community are, of course, also an argument in favour for encouraging projects in the field of renewable energy", said Leonhard Erhard.

The chairman of the board of voltwerk AG, Thomas-Tim Savecke, is also happy about the successful cooperation with the Mering community: "This community has supported us with a fast and efficient approval process. We hope that many more communities will follow the example of Mering."