Pinhal Novo Solar Plant - Solar Power in Portugal
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Donauer, which is a multinational corporation based out of Germany, is building a brand new four-megawatt plant in Pinhal Novo this coming March. This plant will be photovoltaic, which means that it turns solar energy into direct current electricity that can be used for our consumption. In the end, this particular project puts Donauer in a leading position as a producer of solar energy in the country.
This new plant should produce enough energy to supply around 2,400 residences in the region once it is up and running at full capacity in September. This new plant is located on a large plot of land that was originally purchased with this type of project in mind. The people that use this solar energy will not have to worry as much about the damage that their energy sources are doing to the environment.
In building this plant, Donauer used about 18,000 panels made from polycrystal. Each of these panels can generate a maximum of 240 watts. The panels are placed on certain structures around the plot of land, which allows them to collect this energy from the sun. The energy is then transformed into an electrical current through the 12 central inverters on the land. After the energy has been transformed, it can be distributed to the people who can use it like they would use other forms of energy.
From Donauer’s point of view, building high quality photovoltaic plants is a very safe way to invest its money, since the government of Portugal provides injections of tariffs for the next 20 years. This protects the company against inflation, preventing them from losing money in the long term. This is also a good public relations move for the company, since solar energy is renewable and environmentally friendly.
It should also be noted that the plant will generate about 1,500 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak unit and charge 0.257 Euros per kilowatt-hour. Since every kilowatt-hour is equal to 3.6 mega joules, it means that the company will make a considerable amount of money with this new project.
Another thing to remember is that Donauer currently runs about 25 percent of all solar energy in the country, although most of this comes in the form of micro generation. As the company expands, it wants to begin running larger projects, which will expand its influence even further. As solar energy becomes more prevalent, Donauer will control more of the overall energy market in the country through projects such as this one.
Donauer currently has offices all over Europe, as well as an office in South America. The office in Portugal is one of the company’s most important, as you can tell by this newest development. Installing even more solar energy projects in Portugal in the near future remains a very important goal for the company.
Portugal is quickly becoming one of the leaders in the production of renewable energy on a global scale. In 2011, the country used 46.8 percent renewable energy, which is a very high number when compared with some other countries. Much of this investment in solar energy was because of the debt crisis, which is affecting countries all over Europe. At the same time, however, these economic problems are preventing small companies from investing in renewable energy, leaving it up to the large corporations like Donauer.
In the future, it is likely that we will see even more solar energy being produced in Portugal and other European countries. This will lead to more sustainable energy production, as the world’s fossil fuel reserves begin to dwindle. Places like the Pinhal Novo Solar Plant are extremely important because they represent an entirely new generation of energy production in Portugal and other European countries.
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Published in: Portuguese Life