In January, the construction of a photovoltaic power plant with an output of 450 kWp was completed in the area of Nová Hodvábka in Senica. Its construction was carried out by the ENGIE Group in Slovakia, which through this project confirms its Intent – promoting the use of renewable energy sources and decarbonisation.
The actual construction of the photovoltaic power plant was preceded by several months of preparation of the project documentation, including the provision of legislative obligations.The 6-month construction, which began in July 2022, was carried out on the premises of the Local Distribution System of the ENGIE Group in Senica.
“The aim of the construction was to suitably complement our local distribution system with our own power generation, and thus increase the share of renewable energy sources in the ENGIE Group in Slovakia,” says Juraj Sochor, Director of the Project Implementation and Services Division of ENGIE Services.
The photovoltaic power plant, which consists of 834 photovoltaic panels with a total output of 450 kWp, consists of two parts – ground and roof.
Ground part
- 654 photovoltaic panels with 540 Wp
- Slope: 30 degrees
- Total power: 353.16 kWp
Roof
- 180 photovoltaic panels with an output of 540 Wp
- Slope: 10 degrees
- Total power: 97.2 kWp
Juraj Sochor describes the standard process of building a photovoltaic power plant: “The whole project usually starts with a survey and consultation with the customer, when we evaluate the static load capacity of the roof, its orientation to the cardinal points, the risks of possible shading, and also the possibilities of connecting and outputting power.
The next step is to apply for connection to the distribution system, prepare project documentation, obtain the necessary building permits and then the construction itself. In our photovoltaic designs, we place particular emphasis on evaluating the consumption profile so that it is designed efficiently and correctly.
The construction time depends on many factors. First and foremost is the size of the installation itself, and also the permitting process. Typical construction time for conventional PV takes between two and six months.”
ENGIE Group is currently implementing several photovoltaic power plant construction projects in Slovakia. “With the relaxation of regulation for connecting electricity sources to distribution systems, we are seeing increased demand from our customers for these solutions. One of our competitive advantages is the international know-how of our parent company, our high level of expertise and our numerous reference projects. ENGIE’s installed PV capacity worldwide is 4.2 GW. We are pleased to be able to offer our customers project financing in addition to various alternative cooperation options. In addition, by generating electricity from a renewable source, the customers themselves are also contributing to reducing their carbon footprint,” concludes Juraj Sochor.
