Construction of the 11 megawatt Serpa solar power plant (also known as Hércules solar power plant) began in May 2006 and was completed as planned in January 2007, at the cost of 58 million euro. The facility is located in

Serpa Serpa () is a city and a Concelho (municipality) in the central Portuguese region Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of . The Guadiana River flows close to the town of Serpa. History Serpa has its origins in early settle ...

, in Portugal's Alentejo agricultural region, southeast of Lisbon. The plant uses

SunPower SunPower is an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems and battery energy storage products, primarily for residential customers. The company, headquartered in San Jose, California, was founded in 1985 by Richard Swa ...

subsidiary PowerLight's PowerTracker system to follow the sun's daily path across the sky and generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. The plant provides enough electricity to supply approximately 8,000 homes. The Serpa solar power plant was developed by the Portuguese company Catavento and it incorporates photovoltaic modules from SunPower,

Sanyo , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...

and

Suntech Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese producer of solar panels, with of annual production capacity by the end of 2011. It is headquartered in Wuxi, Jiangsu. Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited, a HKSE listed renewable energy inv ...

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

Financial Services provided the financing for the project as part of its Ecomagination program. Generating electricity from the sun with no fuel costs or emissions, the Serpa plant is on a 60-hectare (150-acre) hillside and is a model of clean power generation integrated with agriculture. The project supports a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

initiative by saving more than 30,000 tons a year in

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

compared to equivalent fossil fuel generation. The EU agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020, from 1990 levels. Portugal relies heavily on imported fossil fuels, and its carbon dioxide emissions have increased 34 percent since 1990, which is among the fastest rates in the world. To address this, the country is implementing some of the world's most advanced incentives for installing renewable energy. The Serpa project relies on a preferential tariff mandated by the Portuguese government.

Solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...

enjoys widespread support in Portugal, with the backing of 77 percent of the population, according to a European Commission study published in January 2007.

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Portugal starts huge solar power plantWorld's Largest Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant to be Built with GE Investment and PowerLight Technology11-MW Solar PV Plant Dedicated in Portugal
{{Portalbar, Portugal, Renewable energy Photovoltaic power stations in Portugal Buildings and structures in Serpa Buildings and structures in Beja District

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