World's largest photovoltaic power plants (ranking 1-50)

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PV PLANTS
WORLDWIDE

Largest 50
Ranking 51-100
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Large-scale photovoltaic power plants
ranking 1 - 50

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
(Galileo Galilei)

Huerta Solar Olmedilla de Alarcon, Spain, courtesy Suravia S.A. Parque Solar Puertollano, Spain, courtesy Suravia S.A. Huerta Solar Trujillo, Spain, courtesy Suravia S.A. Huerta Solar Merida, Spain, courtesy Suravia S.A.

Some large-scale PV power plants with 20 MWp or more each
connected to the grid in Spain in 2008
(courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea)

Data about installed power capacity in 2009 is available in PV Power Plants 2010 Industry Guide, published by Solarpraxis.

More detailed data for past years is available in pvresources Annual Review 2008 Extended Edition ...

World's largest photovoltaic power plants are presented in the table below. The list is divided into tables - each table includes 50 power plants. For each listed plant basic data is available (power, country, location, basic description etc.). Currently list with 1000 large photovoltaic plants is available (peak power > 1.6 MWp). In the table you may find different systems: standalone, hybrid, distributed, building integrated etc. But only systems (or system) which forms a unique photovoltaic power plant as a whole, are considered. If some power plants are missing and should be included in this table, or if some entries in the table should be modified, please send information to . Countries where large-scale (>1 MWp) power plants were put into service are (ranked by cumulative power capacity installed as at December 2009):

               - Spain, Germany, USA, Italy, South Korea, Czech Republic

               - China, Portugal, Canada, France, Franch overseas departments/Reunion, Belgium

               - Japan, Greece, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland

               - Thailand, Bulgaria, India, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines

- Israel

The main source of information included in the table below are press releases and various internet sources. The list should be as accurate as possible. Howewer the mistakes and missentries can not be excluded. Please inform me if some plants are not included or if the entries should be modified.

Power	Location	Description	Constructed	MWh/GHG	Picture
60 MW	Spain, Olmedilla (Castilla-La Mancha) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Parque Fotovoltaico Olmedilla de Alarcón GM	2008	85 GWh
54 MW	Germany, Straßkirchen Picture courtesy: Q-Cells International	Solarpark Straßkirchen GM	Q-Cells International 2009	57 GWh
53 MW	Germany, Turnow-Preilack Picture courtesy: juwi	Solarpark Lieberose GM	juwi 2009
50 MW	Spain, Puertollano (Castila-La Mancha) Picture courtesy: SkyFotoFactory fotografia aerea	Parque Fotovoltaico Puertollano GM	2008
46 MW	Portugal, Moura (Alentejo) Picture courtesy: ACCIONA Energia	Moura photovoltaic power plant GM, TRAC	ACCIONA Energia 2008
45 MW	Germany, Köthen	Solarpark Köthen GM	RGE Energy 2010 to be completed soon
42 MW	Germany, Finsterwalde Picture courtesy: Q-Cells International	Solarpark Finsterwalde GM	Q-Cells International 2009
40 MW	Germany, Brandis Picture courtesy: juwi	Solarpark Waldpolenz GM	juwi 2007 2008
34.5 MW	Spain, Trujillo (Cáceres) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Planta Solar La Magascona & La Magasquila GM, TRAC	2008
34 MW	Spain, Arnedo (La Rioja) Picture courtesy: SkyFotoFactory fotografia aerea	Planta Solar Arnedo GM	T-Solar 2008
31.8 MW	Spain, Dulcinea (Cuenca)	Planta Solar Dulcinea GM	2009
30 MW	Spain, Merida (Extremadura) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Parque Solar "SPEX" Merida/Don Alvaro GM, TRAC	Deutsche Bank AG ecoEnergías del Guadiana Solarparc AG SolarWorld AG September 2008
26 MW	Spain, Fuente Álamo (Murcia) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Planta solar Fuente Álamo GM	2008	44 GWh
25 MW	USA, Arcadia, FL	DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center GM, TRAC	2009
24.5 MW	Germany, Finow	Solarpark Finow GM	2010
24 MW	Italy, Montalto di Castro (Lazio) Picture courtesy: SunRay Renewable	Montalto di Castro PV power plant GM	SunPower Corp. SunRay Renewable 2009	40 GWh
24 MW	Korea, Sinan Picture courtesy: Conergy	Sinan power plant GM, TRAC	Conergy 2008	33 GWh 24,000 t CO₂
23.4 MW	Canada, Sarnia (Ontario) Picture courtesy: First Solar	Sarnia PV power plant GM	2009-2010 additional 60 MW under construction
23.4 MW	Canada, Arnprior (Ontario)	Arnprior PV power plant GM	2009
23.2 MW	Spain, Lucainena de las Torres (Almeria) Picture courtesy: MEPGroup	Planta fotovoltaica de Lucainena de las Torres GM	MEPGroup 2008
23.1 MW	Spain, Abertura (Caceres) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Parque Fotovoltaico Abertura Solar GM, TRAC	2008	47.4 GWh 49,800 t CO₂
23 MW	Spain, Hoya de Los Vincentes, Jumilla (Murcia)	Parque Solar Hoya de Los Vincentes, Jumilla GM, TRAC	2008	41.6 GWh 42,000 t CO₂
22.068 MW	Spain, Almaraz (Caceres) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Huerta Solar Almaraz GM, TRAC	2008
21.78 MW	Germany, Mengkofen	Solarpark Mengkofen GM SolarWorld modules	Solarparc AG 2009
21.47 MW	Spain, El Coronil (Andalucia) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Parque Solar Parque solar El Coronil I + II GM, TRAC	2008	40 GWh
21.2 MW	Spain, Calavéron Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Solarpark Calavéron GM, TRAC	EPURON 2008	40 GWh
21 MW	USA, Blythe, CA	Solar electric power plant, Blythe GM	2009
20 MW	China, Xuzhou City (Jiangsu) Picture courtesy: GPL-Poly Energy Holdings	Jiming Hill, Xuzhou City PV power plant GM	2010
20 MW	Germany, Rothenburg (Sachsen) Picture courtesy: Gehrlicher Solar	Solarpark Rothenburg GM	Gehrlicher Solar 2009
20 MW	Korea, Seoul Picture courtesy: Siemens	Seoul power plant GM	2009
20 MW	Spain, Calasparra (Murcia) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A., fotografia aerea	Planta solar fotovoltaico Calasparra GM	2008
20 MW	Spain, Beneixama (Alicante) Picture courtesy/photo: City Solar Accener S.L.	Solarpark Beneixama GM 200 x 100 kW Sinvert Master inverters	City Solar AG Accener S.L. 2007	30 GWh 30,000 t CO₂
20 MW	Spain, El Bonillo (Albacete)	Parque Solar El Bonillo GM	2008
19.4 MW	Germany, Helmeringen Picture courtesy: Gehrlicher Solar	Solarpark Helmeringen GM	Gehrlicher Solar 2008-2009
18 MW	Germany, Senftenberg (Brandenburg)	Solarpark Senftenberg GM	Phoenix Solar to be completed soon
18 MW	Germany, Thüngen	Solarpark Thüngen GM	2010
18 MW	Spain, Olivenza (Badajoz) Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A.	Parque Solar Olivenza GM, TRAC	2008
18 MW	Spain, Las Gabias (Granada)	Huerta Solar Las Gabias GM, TRAC	2008
16 MW	USA, San Antonio, TX	Blue Wing solar electric power plant GM	juwi 2009
15.8 MW	Germany, Moos (Bavaria)	Solarpark Moos GM	2010
15.8 MW	Spain, Don Quijote (Toledo)	Planta Solar Don Quijote GM	2009
15.01 MW	USA, Jacksonville, FL Picture courtesy: juwi	Jacksonville Solar Energy Generation Facility GM	juwi 2010
15 MW	Germany, Allmannshofen (Bavaria) Picture courtesy: juwi	Solaranlage Allmannshofen GM	juwi 2009
15 MW	Korea, Gochang (Jeollabukdo) Picture courtesy: SolarWorld	Gochang power plant GM	SolarWorld 2008	23 GWh
15 MW	Spain, Mahora (Castilla-La- Mancha) Picture courtesy: City Solar AG	Planta de energía solar Mahora GM	City Solar 2008
14.92 MW	Spain, Lorca (Murcia)	Planta Solar Lorca GM	2008
14.75 MW	Germany, Köthen (Sachsen- Anhalt) Picture courtesy: juwi	Solaranlage Flugplatz Köthen GM SMA inverters 200,000 First Solar modules	juwi 2008	13.5 GWh
14.2 MW	USA, Nellis, NV Picture courtesy: SunPower Corp.	Nellis Air Force Base GM, TRAC	SunPower Corp. 2007	30 GWh 24,000 t CO₂
14 MW	Italy, Castellaneta (Taranto)	Castellaneta PV power plant GM	to be completed soon
13.8 MW	Spain, Salamanca Picture courtesy: Suravia S.A.	Planta Solar de Salamanca GM	2007

* Abbreviations - explanation

BG - Biogas as additional energy source in hybrid systems
BIPV - Building integrated photovoltaic system
BM - Biomass as additional energy source in hybrid systems
CONC - Concentrating photovoltaic system
CSC - Coloured solar cells
DI - Diesel fuel as additional source of energy in hybrid systems
DIST - Distributed photovoltaic system
GC - Grid-connected photovoltaic system
GM - Ground-mounted photovoltaic system
FC - Fuell cells as additional energy source in hybrid systems
FI - Facade-integrated system
FLEX - Flexible solar cells
FM - Facade-mounted system
HY - Hybrid photovoltaic system
NB - Noise barrier
PB - PV System part of a passive building
RES - Residental housing
RI - Roof-integrated photovoltaic system
RM - Roof-mounted photovoltaic system
SA - Standalone photovoltaic system
SV - "Shadow-Voltaic" system
TF - Thin-Film (aSi, CdTe, CIS etc.)
TRAC - Tracking system
TRAN - Transparent modules
WI - Wind as additional source of energy in hybrid systems
WP - Water pumping

Special thanks for contributions (permissions to use pictures, errata etc.) to Top 50/100, Top 25 BIPV and to Top 5 ranked by country lists - listed in alphabetic order:

Accener S.L., APS, Bangkok Solar, www.bergfoto.ch, Beck Energy, BP Solar, Cagayan Electric Power & Light Co.,Inc., Chevron Energy Solutions, City Solar AG, Classic Bautreuhand GmbH & Co. KG, Colexon, Conergy, Deutsche BP, Ecofys, Ecostream, EEPro, Elektro Kirchner, ENEL, Energetica Energietechnik, EPURON, esTCI S.L., First Solar, Gehrlicher Solar, Generaciones Fotovoltaicas de la Mancha, Geo-Images Project, Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, GEOSOL Gesellschaft für Solarenergie mbH, Glaswerke Arnold GmbH&Co.KG, Globalsolar Inc., Goldbeck Solar, Gregory Kerwin, Grupo Enerpal, Tom Hansen (Tucson Electric Power), HiTechSolar s.r.o., IBC SOLAR AG, IM2 Energia Solar, Inversiones Solares Sunergy, SLL, Jayme da Costa, JSA Technology, juwi, K&S Consulting, Kahn Solar, Korowatt s.r.o., Martin Bucher Projektentwicklungen, Jiménez Belinchón, S.A., Joel Mendel, MEPGroup, Meyer & Meyer Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Michelin Reifenwerke KGaA, Mitsubishi Electric, MySolar, New Energy Invest GmbH, Takashi Oozeki - AIST, Pfalzwerke, Phoenix Solar, Pohlen Solar, Polder PV - Peter Segaar, Poulek Solar, PowerLight Corp., PV Labor der HTI Bern, Q-Cells International, Ra Solar, Ralos Vertriebs GmbH, Reginald Brown (BSRIA Ltd), S.A.G. Solarstrom, S.E. Project™ S.r.l., Scatec Solar, Scheuten Solar Technology, Seoul Marine Co., Sharp Electronics Europe GmbH, Shell Solar, SIEL/SIAC, Siemens Nederland N.V., SMA Technologie AG, Solar Energiedach GmbH, Solar Engineering Decker & Mack GmbH, Solar World SolarCraft, Solarparc AG, Solarpark Rodenäs GmbH, Solarstrom Schwaben GmbH, SonnenEnergie GmbH, Stephan Schröder Management GmbH, StroomWerk, SunPower Corp., Sun Power & Geothermal Energy, SunEnergy GmbH, Suravia S.A. - fotografia aerea, SunStrom GmbH, Uni Solar Ovonic LLC, TAUBER-SOLAR Management GmbH, Bram Vorster, WIRSOL GmbH, WorldWater & Power Corp., Floris Wouterlood, flag icons provided by icondrawer.

Additional information - Reports
	PV Power Plants 2010 - This is the first industry guide with a clear focus on large-scale PV plants. Through this medium, system integrators, distributors, project developers, project managers and investors can obtain a perfect overview of the latest market developments, new technologies, application possibilities and business landscape of the PV industry. Languages:
	Large Scale PV Power Plants, Annual Review 2008 - Detailed overwiev about PV power installed (only large-scale PV power plants considered) in the period from 1997 to 2008. Annual Review 2008 Free Edition is available as pdf file (5 MB). Annual Review 2008 Extended Edition (100 pages) is available as pdf file on CD - ISBN 978-961-245-739-6. Languages:
Additional information - Books
	The world’s deserts are sufficiently large that, in theory, covering a fraction of their landmass with PV systems could generate many times the current primary global energy supply. In three parts, this study details the background and concept of VLS-PV, maps out a development path towards the realization of VLS-PV systems, and provides firm recommendations to achieve long-term targets. This represents the first study to provide a concrete set of answers to the questions that must be addressed in order to secure and exploit the potential for VLS-PV technology and its global benefits. The contributing authors include a panel of fourteen acknowledged international experts from eight countries (U.S., Japan, Israel, Spain, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, and Mongolia).
	The world’s deserts are sufficiently large that, in theory, covering a fraction of their landmass with PV systems could generate many times the current primary global energy supply. This new "Energy from the Desert" volume examines and evaluates the potential of very large scale photovoltaic power generation (VLS-PV) systems. Following from the success of the first book on the subject, the authors present practical case studies of both virtual and real projects based on selected regions (including the Mediterranean, Sahara, Chinese Gobi, Mongolian Gobi, Indian Thar, Australian Desertm, and the US) and their specific socio-economic dynamics, and argue that VLS-PV systems in desert areas will be readily achievable in the near future. As the essential companion to the previous IEA volume, it reiterates and develops key concepts introduced by the original study and provides firm practical recommendations to achieve long-term targets for policymakers and investors.
	The third book in the Energy from the Desert series examines the socio-economic, environmental and financial issues surrounding the use of Very Large Scale Photovoltaics (VLS-PV). It provides detailed coverage of technology and financing options (including recent and future trends in PV technology), potential social benefits such as desalination and agricultural development, and environmental and ecological impacts of systems and how these can be monitored, illustrated by case studies from the Sahara and Gobi Deserts. The concluding section consists of a roadmap outlining the options and opportunities for future implementation of VLS-PV. Building on the key concepts and case studies of previous volumes, this will be a key text for policy-makers and investors in the field.

Additional information - Journal Articles/Papers

Siemer, J.: Wachstum in Zehnerpotenzen, die größten Solaranlagen der Welt; Photon 6/2005, p.114-129, Solar Verlag 2005.
Rutschmann, I.: Land der Megawattparks; Photon 9/2008, p.40-45, Solar Verlag 2008.
Monitoring zur Wirkung des novellierten EEG auf die Entwicklung der Stromerzeugung aus Solarenergie, insbesondere der Photovoltaik-Freiflächen; ARGE Monitoring PV-Anlagen c/o Bosch & Partner GmbH, Hannover on behalf of Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, 31.07.2007.
Cost and Performance Trends in Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems and Case Studies; IEA PVPS Task 2, Report IEA PVPS T2-06:2007, December 2007.