It seems that the title of the "world's largest" is a fast-moving target, now that the price of oil is through the roof and lots of investment is heading toward alternative energies.
Currently, the world's largest solar power system is Powerlight's Bavaria Solarpark in Germany, with a capacity to produce 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power 10,000 houses (a megawatt, conveniently, is enough electricity to power 1,000 houses). Bavaria Solarpark went live in early 2005 and has, by all accounts, performed as designed. Bavaria, by the way, tops the list of states in Germany, the world's most prolific solar-energy producer, with more than 75 MW of photovoltaics (PV) installed.
In 2004, Shell opened the former world's largest solar plant near Leipzig, also in Germany, producing 5 MW. A General Electric/Powerlight solar plant will soon open in Portugal with 11 MW. Hot on those heels are a 15 MW plant in South Korea and a 100 MW plant in Israel. The current leader in announced capacity appears to be a 116 MW solar-power station, also in Portugal, to be built by a consortium of German companies.
On this side of the Atlantic, two projects in Nevada are vying to be among the world's largest. Why Nevada? Two main reasons. First, most of Nevada receives upwards of 300 days of sunlight annually. And second, state law mandates that Nevada's largest electric utilities -- Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power -- generate an increasing percentage of their power from renewable resources, peaking at 20% by 2015.
Nevada Solar One broke ground in February on a 300-acre solar/thermal power plant being developed by a North Carolina-based company, Solargenix Energy, in Eldorado Valley, south of Boulder City. The 65 megawatt plant is expected to be operational by March 2007 at a cost of about $100 million.
Meanwhile, a Nevada company called Powered by Renewables has teamed up with a Maryland company called SunEdison to build a 110-acre 36 megawatt PV power plant at Nellis Air Force Base; 36 MW is enough to supply 70% of Nellis' electric demand. Ground is scheduled to be broken next month, with the first four megawatts expected to be completed by late 2006 and the rest in 2007.
