January 22, 2010

Hamburg, Germany: Berlin's Mayor Inaugurates PV System

Michael Geißler, Managing Director of Berliner Energieagentur, and Klaus Wowereit, acting mayor Berlin

Yesterday, Berlin's acting mayor Klaus Wowereit officially put into service the solar system on the roof of the Max-Schmeling-hall in Berlin. In attendance were numerous guests from the fields of politics, economy and media.

The system is currently Berlin’s largest photovoltaic installation on a roof of a public building. The total output of the 1,064 modules with a surface of 1,749 square meters amounts to 250 kWp. With an average sun exposure, the annual yield should come up to 220 MWh - this covers the power demand of around 100 households. Operator of the system is energy agency Berliner Energieagentur, the modules were provided by Centrosolar AG.

The solar panels are “Made in Germany”, manufactured in Centrosolar’s module factory “Sonnenstromfabrik” in Wismar. The system reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an annual amount of 22 tones.

Berlin's acting mayor Klaus Wowereit stressed at the opening that more solar systems will be installed onto roofs in Berlin to produce power and heat – contributing to the climate protection target of the city state Berlin. At present, there are around 2,000 photovoltaic systems and 6,000 thermal systems installed in Berlin, with a calculated annual power of over 30,000 MWh.

The solar system on the roof of the Max-Schmeling-hall is a joint project of several Centrosolar Group AG subsidiaries. The planning was taken on by the project company Centroplan. Centroplan is a joint venture between Centrosolar and roofing company Pohlen Bedachungen GmbH & Co.KG, who installed the system.

Manufacturer of the modules is Centrosolar’s module factory in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, where 150 MWp of solar modules are produced every year. The polycrystalline high performance modules S-Class Professional were mounted elevated.

The power supply was completed in December so the operator could still profit from the higher feed-in tariff. The system on the Max-Schmeling-hall is not the only project which Centrosolar brought about with Berlin Energieagentur. Another pv system is currently being built onto a property in Berlin-Lichtenberg, aiming to produce 80 MWh power annually.

Further details about: Centrosolar