Martifer Solar’s plans to expand its PV power plant projects business remains on-track after completing two of the largest PV power plants in Portugal that have a combined capacity of 22.4MWp. The project developer had around €235 million worth of projects in its backlog at the end of the first-half of 2012, with management expectation of increasing installations by a double digit amount this year, compared with around 200MW installed in 2011.
The latest completed projects are located in Avalades, Silves and Ferreiras, Albufeira, Portugal, which were developed, built and operated for a fund managed by BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners.
“These two projects are of utmost importance for Martifer Solar and Portugal and therefore reinforce our commitment to the country, contributing to the creation of jobs and allowing a more sustainable national energy balance. It also confirms the potential of our country in the field of photovoltaic solar energy,” remarked Henrique Rodrigues, CEO of Martifer Solar.
“As a part of our strategy we saw these projects in Portugal as an excellent opportunity to increase and diversify our portfolio of renewable energy projects,” added Joost Bergsma, CEO of BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners.
“We saw in Martifer Solar a valuable and reliable partner with the capacity to add value from the beginning and throughout the lifetime of the projects.”
The Avalades plant, is said to be one of the largest in Portugal covering an area of over 41 hectares, employing 66,080 modules with a capacity of 15.6MWp.
The Ferreirassolar plant employs 28,320 modules, in an area of over 16 hectares, with a production capacity of 6.8MWp.
Martifer Solar said that the construction of the two solar plants involved a total of 200 workers; 120 in Avalades and 80 in Ferreiras. Operation and maintenance services, in charge of Martifer Solar, will be provided by more than 10 people.
The company told PV Tech that it was now present in 24 countries. The company also expects to enter the Japanese market via a joint venture with a local player, by the end of the year.
