Global solar technology leader ISOFOTON and the Government of the Dominican Republic have signed last weekend a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) giving the company the green light to begin construction of one of Latin America’s largest photovoltaic plants. The plant will be built in the Dominican Republic and will represent the country’s first such installation. With an investment of $US 150 million and located in La Victoria, 15 km from Santo Domingo, construction of the plant is expected to begin in September, employing 500 workers during the initial phases. The plant will have a nominal power output of 44 MW and a peak power output of 50.6 MW. Environmental benefits will also be substantial, since the plant will generate 74,532.61 MW/hour per year of clean energy, equaling the estimated supply used by 58,411 families. This entails a reduction of CO2 emissions of 44,014.16 tons per year. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) are the most widely extended type of contract in the United States for developing new sources of energy generation.
The signing of the contract follows the concession that was awarded last month, an event that was witnessed by Dominican Republic authorities and Ángel Luis Serrano, ISOFOTON’s President. Says Mr. Serrano: “This will be a model plant in the Latin American continent, where the potential for growth in the photovoltaic sector is enormous. Latin America is one of the photovoltaic markets that will drive the use of renewable energy and ISOFOTON’s plant in the Dominican Republic, together with the one we will be starting up in Ecuador, will be one of the leaders driving this progress”.
The main lines of action surrounding ISOFOTON’s global development plans are founded on constant innovation and a strong bet on R&D, in addition to the setup of production centers in new photovoltaic markets and internationalization and strategic alliances with prestigious companies including Samsung, Posco Plan Engineering, GCL/Poly or Mercedes AMG Petronas. In order to compete in the global market and respond to high photovoltaic demand, ISOFOTON will increase its production capacity up to 1,500 MW over the next 2 years. ISOFOTON’s President recently announced a Euro 50 Million investment from Samsung for its Malaga facility (Spain) aimed at expanding the production capacity and improving technological efficiency. A new 50 MW capacity plant will be inaugurated in Ohio (US) after the summer, with plans to expand capacity to 100 MW. Furthermore, two new photovoltaic plants will be inaugurated in Latin America next year, one in the Dominican Republic and another in Ecuador, totaling a combined capacity of 100 MW. In Asia, strategic alliances and collaboration agreements are currently under way. ISOFOTON has recently signed an agreement with GCL-Poly – a leader in the processing and production of polysilicon and silicon wafers and one of the world’s largest green energy companies – to develop 1 GW worth of solar projects globally.