Solar power in Germany consists almost exclusively of photovoltaics (PV) and accounted for an estimated 8.2 percent of the country's gross-electricity generation in 2019. About 1.5 million photovoltaic systems were installed around the country in 2014, ranging from small rooftop systems, to medium commercial and large utility-scale solar parks. Germany's largest solar farms are located in Meuro, Neuhardenberg, and Templin with capacities over 100 MW.
Gottelborn Solar Park is an 8.4-MWp photovoltaic power station located in Göttelborn, in Quierschied municipality, Germany. The power plant was constructed by City Solar in two stages. The first stage was completed in August, 2004, followed by the second stage three years later in November 2007.
Solon SE was a German solar energy company with headquarters in Berlin. Solon SE produced photovoltaic modules at its production sites in Greifswald, Steinach in Tirol, Carmignano di Brenta, Tucson and Berlin. Solon also offered turn-key solar power plants, projected by SOLON Inverstments and Inverters, developed and produced by SOLON Inverters AG.
SMA Solar Technology AG is a German solar energy equipment supplier founded in 1981 and headquartered in Niestetal, Northern Hesse, Germany. SMA is a producer and manufacturer of solar inverters for photovoltaics systems with grid connection, off-grid power supply and backup operations.
The Finsterwalde Solar Park was, in November 2010, the world's largest photovoltaic plant with 80.7 MWp. The project is located in Finsterwalde, Germany and is equipped with Q-Cells modules and LDK solar wafers.
The Rothenburg Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station in Rothenburg, Oberlausitz in Germany. Initially it had a capacity of 20.5 megawatts (MW). The solar park is equipped with 273,240 CdTe-modules from First Solar, and 11 Siemens central inverters. The project was commissioned in 2009. The original solar farm was divided into three fields on the airfield site.
Canadian Solar Inc. is a publicly traded company that manufactures solar PV modules and runs large scale solar projects.
SolarPark Korea Co., Ltd. is a South Korean crystalline silicon module manufacturer. Founded in 2008 as a German-Korean joint venture, the company combines German and Korean machinery and engineering in its automated module fabrication lines. In June 2011, SolarPark Korea became a 100% subsidiary of the SolarPark Co., Ltd.
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system designed for the supply of merchant power. They are differentiated from most building-mounted and other decentralised solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. The generic expression utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.
The Lauingen Energy Park is a 25.7–megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station, located in Bavarian Swabia, Germany. It covers an area of 63 hectares and was commissioned in June 2010.
The Tutow Solar Park is in Demmin, Germany, and is located at Tutow Airport.
Solar power in South Africa includes photovoltaics (PV) as well as concentrated solar power (CSP). In 2016, South Africa had 1,329 MW of installed solar power capacity. Installed capacity is expected to reach 8,400 MW by 2030.
Serenissima Solar Park is a 48 MW photovoltaic (PV) plant in Northeast Italy. The construction schedule was shortened by several months to meet the August 31, 2011 deadline to receive the FIT rate of EUR 0.256/kWh.
Ernsthof Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station near Dörlesberg, Wertheim, Germany. It has a capacity of 34.4 MWp making it the largest Solar Park in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Phase I of 6.88 MWp and covering an area of 16.6 hectares, consisted of 31,280 modules by LDK Solar Energy Systems was completed on March 30, 2010. The second phase of 7.25 MWp was completed in December 2010, and it was expanded to 29.5 MW and then to 34.4 MW, with over 120,000 modules being fitted in December. Ernsthof East is 6.8 MW and Ernsthof West is 27.5 MW. The total area is 85 ha. Ernsthof is part of the Tauberlandpark, a planned 72 MW solar park consisting of Ernsthof and Solarpark Gickelfeld, which has been delayed due to the political uncertainty of solar parks of over 10 MW receiving the FIT. They may need, instead, to sign a Power Purchase Agreement with the grid distribution power company, which is better than subdividing large projects into multiple smaller segments just to qualify for the FIT.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is an institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Located in Freiburg, Germany, The Institute performs applied scientific and engineering research and development for all areas of solar energy. Fraunhofer ISE has three external branches in Germany which carry out work on solar cell and semiconductor material development: the Laboratory and Service Center (LSC) in Gelsenkirchen, the Technology Center of Semiconductor Materials (THM) in Freiberg, and the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP) in Halle. Since 2006, Prof. Dr. Eicke R. Weber is the director of Fraunhofer ISE. With over 1,100 employees, Fraunhofer ISE is the largest institute for applied solar energy research in Europe. The 2012 Operational Budget including investments is 74.3 million euro.
Solarpark Meuro is a 166 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station located in Meuro and Schipkau, Germany. The plant was built on a former lignite mine and is the country's largest solar park. It was named POWER-GEN International solar project of the year in 2012.
WIRSOL Solar AG is an international solar energy provider, specialized in the planning, financing, construction and maintenance of solar power plants of any size. The headquarters of the company is in Germany. Further company offices are located in Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, USA, China, Malaysia and the Maldives.
The Perleberg Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station, with an installed capacity of 35 megawatts (MW). It uses 144,144 solar panels manufactured by Chinese company Yingli. The panels are mounted at a fixed angle on posts that are driven into the ground, at a former military airport.
Meyer Burger, headquartered in Thun, (Switzerland), is a globally active mechanical engineering company, which is primarily known for its production facilities in the photovoltaic industry. Meyer Burger develops and produces systems with which solar cells can be manufactured and electrically connected for use in solar modules. The focus is on heterojunction technology (HJT) and the exclusive SmartWire Connection Technology (SWCT). High-precision measuring systems for silicon wafers, solar cells and modules are also offered. From spring 2021, the company will produce solar cells and solar modules itself at two locations in Germany.
