A new 18.4 MW solar park has been connected to the Italian grid by European Energy. The solar park is in Palo del Colle near Bari in Italy. It will be able to produce green power equivalent to the needs of 40,000 people.
– We are very pleased to connect another solar farm to the Italian grid and play a positive part of the country’s green transition. Italy is a key market for us at European Energy, and we continue to push on with other projects that can deliver green power to the Italians. We consider Italy to be a very interesting market because it allows us to apply our expertise in a country rich in history and culture but also has excellent conditions for solar power, says Knud Erik Andersen, CEO of European Energy.
The solar park will use 42,000 modules of tracker panels that follow the path of the sun during the day thereby maximizing power production.
The solar park, once fully operational, will save over 10,000 tons of CO2 each year, a quantity comparable to the annual emissions of 15,000 latest-generation combustion cars, making a further contribution to the green path of renewables in Italy and their beneficial impact on the peninsula's climate. It is estimated that 100 people have worked and will work in the future both on the construction and maintenance of the plant, whose standard life cycle is expected to last 30 years.
During the construction phase, European Energy has collaborated with local companies to uncover an ancient stone hut known as a “trulli” situated near the area of the solar park.
The “trulli” has been integrated into the design of the solar park. This is not the first time that European Energy has been working together with archeologists in Italy. In 2020 European Energy contributed to the discovery of a sixth century basilica at the site of Troia – then the largest solar park built in Italy.
European Energy has been developing projects in Italy since 2006 and currently has an office in Milan in the northern part of Italy.
