It was not clear whether all of the 430,000 panels required would come from Astronergy’s Frankfurt (Oder) facility.
Image: Astronergy
With German-based PV module maker Astronergy yet to confirm when production will cease at its Frankfurt (Oder) production facility, its Chinese parent Chint has found a way to soak up some of its panel stockpile.
Shanghai-based Chint, which last month said it would halt production in Germany with the loss of more than 200 of the site’s 230 jobs, has announced the start of construction on its 103 MW Midden-Groningen solar park in the Netherlands.
Announcing the landmark at what it described as “one of the biggest Dutch solar parks of 2019”, Chint said it would use 430,000 Astronergy panels on the 116 ha site near the A7 at Hoogezand Sappemeer, although it did not specify whether they would all come from its German facility.
Chint said it acquired rights to develop the project from Dutch company Powerfield in 2016 and Goldbeck Solar and Greencells will carry out construction with ABB Netherlands to build a private substation and Alsema to supply a high voltage line to transmission system operator TenneT’s substation at Kropswolde.
TenneT and rival Enexis made headlines last month when they said PV was expanding too rapidly in the Netherlands to be accommodated in their grid networks. At the time, TenneT explained there was some, limited, capacity for new renewables at Kropswolde but other areas of Groningen – as well as Drenthe and Overijssel – were already at capacity.
Chint said the Midden-Groningen project is expected to be completed this year and will supply the annual power needs of 35,000 households.
Source: pv magazine
