GE Energy has inked a supply agreement with Invenergy for 23 MW advanced solar equipment. This equipment will be installed at Invenergy’s Grand Ridge solar project, which is being built in Illinois. Grand Ridge Solar will be the Midwest’s largest solar plant after its completion in mid-2012.
The location of the Grand Ridge Solar is in La Salle County, contiguous to the Grand Ridge wind project of Invenergy. The Grand Ridge Wind provides 210 MW of electricity by means of 140 wind turbines of GE’s 1.5 MW series.
According to the CEO and President of Invenergy, Michael Polsky, the solar energy has become a competitive solution due to technology developments, while the company is expecting the growth of clean energy portfolio. The installation of more than 1,500 wind turbines of GE at projects across the US also incorporates GE’s solar technology.
GE will provide packaged inverter skids to Grand Ridge Solar, besides thin film solar panels. GE SunIQ plant controls, Brilliance inverters, re-combiners, transformers are included in this packaged inverter skids. The solar plant’s grid integration potential will be improved by the SunIQ platform.
Last year, GE had planned to construct a main solar panel factory in Colorado. This new factory will have the potential to make sufficient solar panels annually that can power 80,000 houses. GE’s solar business has invested $600 million in this Colorado factory. Lightweight and efficient solar panels will be manufactured in the new factory. These panels can be installed easily and aid in significant applications.
Source: http://www.ge.com/