Poland's PGE moves into solar power with 600-kW facility

Polish power group PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (WSE:PGE) on Wednesday opened its first photovoltaic (PV) power facility, a 600-kW installation at Gora Zar in the southern part of the country.

The company said the project is part of its efforts to gradually diversify its generation sources. Currently, PGE produces 12% of its energy from renewables, noted chief executive Marek Woszczyk. It is now adding solar to its hydro and wind power operations.

The solar farm consists of 2,400 solar panels of 250 W and is expected to generate at least 550 MWh gross per year. The investment in the project is PLN 2.8 million (USD 757,000/EUR 662,000), including a PLN-624,000 grant from the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Katowice.

PGE recently generated first power from the 76-MW Resko II wind farm, while the 90-MW Lotnisko and 12-MW Kisielice II wind projects are scheduled to be brought online by the end of 2015. The three wind farms will lift the company's installed wind capacity to 529 MW. PGE is investing PLN 1 billion in wind energy assets in the current year alone, according to the announcement.

The company also said it continued with its first offshore wind farm project, for which it announced a tender in August for the performance of environmental research.

(PLN 1.0 = USD 0.271/EUR 0.236)

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