Mátrai Erőmű inaugurates EUR 20.9 million solar power plant

Power plant company Mátrai Erőmű inaugurated a 6.5 billion forints (EUR 20.9m) solar power plant in Visonta (N Hungary) on Wednesday.

The plant uses photovoltaic technology, which means it converts solar energy into direct current electricity using semiconducting materials.

The 16MW facility is currently Hungary’s biggest solar power plant. It is also Central Europe’s largest combined-cycle generator which uses renewables. The power plant is comprised of 72,480 solar panels placed on a 30 hectare field and the electricity generated will feed into the country’s electricity grid. The plant will supply green energy for about 4,000 households, Mátrai said in a statement.

Half of the investment costs will be covered by a development tax break, chairman of the company’s supervisory board Marie-Theres Thiell told a news conference. The project will reduce Hungary’s carbon emissions by 24,000 tonnes per year.

Germany’s RWE-EnBW own 74 percent of Matrai Erőmű and the state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) has a 24 percent stake. RWE has been present in Hungary for 20 years and Thiell said the company has plans for the future, despite earlier “hickups”.

Bernhard Luschper, the chairwoman of the company’s board, said a photovoltaic plant requires a new vision and it is clear that such developments have a future in Hungary.

Mátrai Erőmű employs 2,100 people.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters