In many other places across Europe, work has mostly come to a halt. This has had adverse implications on the construction and completion of several Solar PV projects. COVID-19 has allowed for the general decline in production capacity, supply chain, shipments, disruptions to the grid connection, etc. There aren’t any blueprints for dealing with a pandemic. So, work has stopped in some locations, while construction has continued in others under strict guidelines.
“Operational safety and worker health are the priority, but that’s always been there. The point of difference was to source real professionals who have built a lot of projects to say, we’ve got to do it differently,” said Daniel Ruoss, general manager, Clenergy - Global Projects.
To date, all mounting systems have been installed, with modules and transformers. Various follow-up tests were performed on the transformer substation and the power grid connection has been completed.
“We will be able to reach Commercial Operation Date (COD) in June 2020, even with COVID-19 and many rainy days in February. The Clenergy team have pushed forward to get the project done, and we must give a special thanks to our team and contractors GP Joule and Energiequelle for their hard work and adhering to the safety protocols like social distancing so that we could stay on our timeline” says Can Kökten, head of engineering Clenergy Global Projects.
This large-scale solar project is a milestone for Obton, and Clenergy for their global project business. The solar park will turn a disused mining site into a solar power generation site, accelerating the transformation from traditional energy sources to clean energy. It will be one of the largest substations for a Solar PV Plant in Germany with an 80 MWac Capacity and innovative reactive power compensation solution. It is expected to deliver power to approximately 19,000 local households after being connected to the grid, achieving both economic and ecological benefits.
Obton CEO Anders Marcus, said, “As a responsible company, the safety of our employees and subcontractors has been our first priority. I’m satisfied with the precautions introduced and humbled by the resilience of all the teams involved. Here they have faced adversity from the pandemic and persevered to bring clean green energy to the region.”
