Geenex, a renewable energy company which aims to draw upon “German excellence, expertise and reliability”, has announced it will invest US$200 million in PV projects in North Carolina over the next two years.
The company’s first solar project will have a capacity of more than 50MW which, Geenex notes, will be the largest PV system in the US state.
PV equipment including modules and racking systems will be sourced from local suppliers in North Carolina while Dominion Power is expected to purchase the power from the project.
Geenex operates across the US. However, the decision to invest in North Carolina followed a long-term evaluation of “the best operation field” for their activities in the country. The company is aiming to develop more than US$500 million worth of solar projects in the over the next five years but the company expects to exceed this number due to their large expansion plans.
In addition to developing PV plants, Geenex will also construct a Solar Center of Excellence on an 8-hectare site in North Carolina. The centre will utilise modern solar technology and help to educate visitors on the benefits of solar.
Georg Veit, CEO of Geenex, commented: “Solar is a rapidly growing industry even in a time when other industries decline and lay off workers. Our vision is to inform, educate, enable and providing a long term approach which will bring the solar industry to the next level.”
Veit adds: “We've certainly spent a lot of money here and we've invested. We will be employing local people as much as we can, anything from equipment operators to electricians, general labour and other various employees as many as possible should come from this region. In general, our approach is to work with high quality products and a very skilled and efficient local workforce bringing confidence into this growing US industry.”
