IBC SOLAR launches Jura Solarparks in Upper Franconia

At a ground-breaking ceremony on June 17, the Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer symbolically launched construction works for the Jura Solarparks of IBC SOLAR, a German photovoltaic specialist. The ceremony also kicked off the prime minister's ‘Zukunftsreise‘ (Journey into the Future) which will take him to a number of projects related to education, family and innovation in the coming months. As an example of innovative technologies and one of the largest PV projects in Bavaria, the Jura Solarparks, consisting of six PV projects with a total power of 27.5MWp, are the starting point of this journey. The PV projects, which will be constructed by September 2011, will promote Bavaria‘s energy transition. "The Bavarian government has decided to cover half of its electricity consumption with renewable sources by the year 2021", said the Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer. "This highly ambitious aim cannot be achieved without the involvement of the Bavarian citizens. The Jura Solarparks demonstrate that people are willing to take care of their energy supply. What is being created here certainly is a role model for Bavaria's electrical power supply in the future." Kicked off by the ground-breaking ceremony at Weismain-Fesselsdorf, construction works begin for the first of the six solar parks which will be connected to the grid as early as in August 2011. This first PV project with a nominal power of 8.4MWp will supply sufficient energy for an equivalent of 2,260 homes and result in an annual reduction of climate-damaging carbon emissions by 4,600 tons. "The Jura Solarparks are one of the largest Bavarian projects", explained Udo Möhrstedt, founder and CEO of IBC SOLAR. "By consistently expanding a distributed infrastructure of renewable energy sources we can become the showpiece among the German states in the post-fossil era even without costly grid expansions. The Bavarian government led by Host Seehofer has recognized that the Bavarian population wants green electricity." Three of the six installations will be marketed as so-called Citizen Solar Parks allowing residents from the surrounding communities to join in. Oliver Partheymüller, project manager at IBC SOLAR, said, "Using photovoltaics, areas which cannot be used otherwise can create value to the benefit of the entire region. With the Solar Parks, residents from three rural districts will have the chance to invest in solar energy. Apart from this attractive investment option, they get the opportunity to contribute to a sustainable energy supply." With a total area of 63 hectares, the Jura Solarparks will generate electricity for approximately 8,097 homes, delivering 28,339,160kWh of green energy and reducing carbon emissions by 1,550 tons. It is planned to have all projects completed and grid-connected by September 2011. www.ibc-solar.com