The ambitious solar photovoltaic partnership agreement has been approved by the regional executive, who has pledged to speed up the bureaucratic processes for its implementation, while the OPDE Group ensures its stable presence in the Piedmont region during the next few years.
The construction and start up of the facilities will be located in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria, and will take place in the period between October 2009 and December 2010. The OPDE Group hopes to create 125 new jobs, from a total of 375 direct and indirect posts which will become available from the ambitious solar photovoltaic project, meaning an important economic driver for the region of Piedmont.
The OPDE Group has submitted a three-stage plan. The first stage, planned to be completed in early 2010 and costing €150 million, involves the implementation of seven PV farms that will obtain 31 MW of installed capacity. Similarly, in this first phase the operation and maintenance centre of the group company Ríos Renovables will come into operation as well as Mecasolar’s (another group company) solar trackers and fixed structures in Turin (the capital of Piedmont), which will also act as a logistics centre, from where the OPDE Group intends to supply solar PV markets in France, Germany and Eastern Europe.
The second €170 million phase will take place in 2010 with the construction of a further ten solar power plants with an installed capacity of 45 MW, while the third and final phase will focus on collaboration with technology centres and universities to launch a Centre for Research on Photovoltaic Solar Energy.
The OPDE Group also includes Proinso, specialising in PV materials engineering and supply. Consequently, the OPDE group is able to offer a complete solution that spans the entire photovoltaic business value chain including dual-axis solar tracker manufacturing, materials engineering and supply, installation and global development and construction of PV solar plants.
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