Yingli panels to power Europe's largest solar plant

Solar panel manufacturer Yingli Green Energy, also known as Yingli Solar, will supply 120 MW of YGE 72 Cell solar panels to the largest solar power park in Europe. Located in Cestas in the south-west of France, the park will cover 250 ha divided into 25 solar plants, providing a total peak capacity of 300 MW.

The €360 million project has been developed by French renewable energy company Neoen, while a consortium comprising Eiffage-Clemessy, Schneider Electric and Krinner will take charge of construction, operation and maintenance. Yingli Solar will supply more than 393,000 multicrystalline panels for the project between December 2014 and June 2015, before its connection to the grid in October 2015.

“We are confident that our decision to work with Yingli, well recognised for their reliable services, will help us to meet the challenging project program while ensuring the long-term performance of the plants,” said Patrick de Labrusse, Cestas Project Director, Eiffage-Clemessy.

The high-efficiency panels will comprise more than one third of the overall project and will be mounted in an east-west orientation to boost the system’s overall power density. The developer has worked hard on multiple system optimisations and plant design in order to increase the project’s profitability and competitiveness, with the plant expected to provide electricity at €105 per MWh - below the price of the UK’s new nuclear electricity.

“We are honoured to be part of this milestone project in the European PV market and to be delivering a promising model that is driven by profitability and cost competitiveness rather than dependence on public incentives,” said Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Yingli Green Energy. “Reaching grid parity is a reality now and we are pleased to partner with innovative European companies such as Neoen and Eiffage-Clemessy; they set a high standard and work hard every day to build a low-carbon economy across Europe.”