SunEdison to build Europe’s largest solar power plant in Rovigo, Italy

ROVIGO, ITALY: SunEdison, a division of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. received final approval from the Italian government to develop and construct a 72 Megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar power plant in Northeastern Italy, near the town of Rovigo. When completed, this is expected to be the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Europe.

Power generation will begin in the second half of 2010 with final completion expected by year end. In the first full year of operation, the system will generate sufficient energy to power 17,150 homes and avoid 41,000 tons of CO2 – the equivalent of removing 8,000 cars from the road.

SunEdison will jointly develop the project with financing partner Banco Santander. Additional financial partners are expected to join the project for final ownership.

“SunEdison is focused on enabling the growth of global solar markets through strong capabilities in project finance, engineering, low-cost procurement and operations and maintenance services,” commented Carlos Domenech, President of SunEdison.

“Veneto is taking decisive action to advance the use of clean, renewable energy sources,” said Renzo Marangon, government official of the Veneto region. “At the same time, this project is expected to create over 350 local construction jobs and build expertise in advanced energy technologies. We expect Rovigo to serve as a European model for large-scale, alternative-energy projects.”

“A critical element of our approach is working closely with the right partners,” added Pancho Perez, General Manager for Europe and MENA region at SunEdison, “including developers, suppliers and contractors. For the Rovigo project, we selected Isolux Corsán, a large-scale infrastructure construction company with a strong track record in utility-scale solar plants.”

“We are pleased to be selected by SunEdison to construct the largest PV solar plant in Europe. We are looking forward to extending this partnership beyond Italy,” said Luis Delso, President of Isolux Corsán.

At 72 megawatts, this solar-power plant will be the largest in Europe. Currently, the largest facility is a 60MW solar farm in Olmedilla, Spain, followed by a 50 MW in Strasskirchen, Germany, built by MEMC through a joint venture agreement.