The Olmedilla Photovoltaic (PV) Park in Spain is the largest Solar Power plant in the world. Similarly the other largest solar PV plants are also located in Europe.

The demand for Solar Power in the United States is swelling even with an economic recession in the background. The main reasons that can be attributed to this growth are:

• Financial incentives from government

• Simplification of credit accessibility

• Improvement in recognition of environmental benefits in the public

Even though the largest Solar Power plants are not in the US, but the under-construction projects in New Mexico and California are expected to balance out the dominance of Europe in a few years.

Worlds Largest Solar Plants

1. Olmedilla Photovoltaic (PV) Park in Spain

This solar plant has more than 160,000 flat solar PV panels that generate over 60 MW of electricity in a day. This plant was constructed within 15 months at a staggering cost of $530 million. The panels used are of the conventional type, made from silicon, expensive and heavy.

2. Puertollano PV Park in Spain

The Puertollano solar plant generates around 50 MW of Solar Power in a day. It produces enough power to meet the electricity requirement of 39,000 average households. And, the energy generated by it in 25 years would offset more than 2 million tons of carbon dioxide.

3. Moura PV Power Station in Portugal

The Moura solar plant was built at a cost of €250 million in two phases. It generates 46 MW of electricity on a good sunny day with its more than 375,000 panels. The plant is spread across an area of more than 320 acres and produces 88 Giga-Watt Hour of electricity in a year.

4. Waldpolenz Solar Park in Germany

This solar plant is the largest thin-film solar plant in the world. It is constructed in a military air base and has a total Solar Power generation capacity of 40 MW. The plant has more than 0.55 million thin-film panels that generate around 40,000 MWh of power in a year. It is built at a total investment of around €130 million.

5. Arnedo Solar Plant in Spain

The fifth largest Solar Power plant in the world is the Arnedo plant that has an annually electricity generation capacity of 34 GWh. It can power more than 12,000 average-sized households and offset 375,000 tons of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

This plant is spread across 70 Hectares and has more than 170,000 solar panels. It was built at an investment of €180 million and currently it is meeting 62% of the electricity requirement of La Rioja, a wine producing region in Spain.