Gehrlicher Solar AG officially inaugurates largest solar power plant (25.7 MWp) in Swabia

Following the startup of the third construction stage, Lauingen Energy Park with a peak performance of 25.7 megawatts will be covering the yearly power requirement of 7,500 three-person households.

Lauingen (Donau), October 10, 2010. On October 10, 2010, Gehrlicher Solar AG officially inaugurated Lauingen Energy Park. Following the completion of the last construction stage Helmeringen III in June 2010, this now largest solar power plant in Swabia will produce 28.98 million kilowatt hours of green electricity. It will, thus, cover the yearly power requirement of 22,500 citizens. The CO2 savings amount to 14,353 tons per year.

The official inauguration took place in the presence of Wolfgang Schenk, Mayor of the city of Lauingen, Richard Frech, from Solarpark Helmeringen GmbH & Co. KG and Dr. Johannes Strasser, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Gehrlicher Solar AG. In his welcome remarks, Dr. Strasser thanked all participants and said “The support we received from the city of Lauingen and the administrative district of Dilligen was excellent. Our thanks also go to the regional enterprises and to the investors that made this project possible in the first place. We are proud to have been able to jointly realize the largest solar power plant in Swabia.“

In his speech, Mayor Wolfgang Schenk emphasized both the regional and supra-regional importance of the solar park. He said, „By realizing this project, we have succeeded in assuming a pioneering role on a nationwide level. The energy park has brought our company fresh orders and met with broad public approval – some citizens, as also the public utilities of the city of Lauingen, have directly supported this expansion via an investment company. On behalf of the city of Lauingen, I would like express my warmest thanks to Gehrlicher Solar AG and all other parties concerned.“

Afterwards, an ecumenical blessing of the energy park was conducted by town priest, Lothar Hartmann, from the catholic Saint Martin parish. Afterwards, the guests had the opportunity of taking part in guided tours of the solar power plant.

The three construction stages of the energy park encompass an area of 63 hectares, another 18 hectares serve as ecological compensation areas. A total of 306,084 thin-film modules turn sunlight into energy. 288,132 modules were manufactured by global market leader First Solar. The other 17,952 were manufactured by Yingli. 18 SMA inverters as well as three Siemens central inverters convert direct current into alternating current, which can be fed into the public grid.

Lauingen Energy Park, with its 25,7 MWp, is the largest solar power plant Gehrlicher Solar AG has built, thus far. The investment volume amounts to approximately 72 millionen euros. Within the framework of their expansion program for renewable energies, the public utilities of the city of Munich, HEAG Südhessische Energie AG (HSE) and various regional investors are substantially involved in the project.

Pictures are available upon request.

Gehrlicher Solar AG is a photovoltaic corporation which was founded in 1994 by its chairman, Klaus Gehrlicher. Gehrlicher Solar AG acts as a system integrator, planning, building, financing, maintaining and operating photovoltaic systems. In addition, Gehrlicher Solar AG acts as a wholesaler for solar modules from other manufacturers, as well as offering its own developed components, from cables to substructures. The company plans, constructs and manages photovoltaic funds or private placement facilities for investors. Gehrlicher Solar AG is active globally, with 330 employees at two sites in Germany – Neustadt near Coburg and Dornach near Munich. The company operates subsidiaries in Italy, Spain, Greece, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and New Jersey/USA.

Gehrlicher Solar AG • Sarah Wulle • Press Relations Officer • Munich Office
Max-Planck-Str. 3 • 85609 Dornach near Munich (Germany)
Phone: +49 89 420792-178 • Fax: +49 89 420792-8170
E-Mail: sarah.wulle@gehrlicher.com • Internet: www.gehrlicher.com

This release was published on openPR.