Iqony Sens implements eight photovoltaic projects in Hungary
Iqony Sens will connect the solar parks to the grid by spring 2021
Photovoltaics is also set to take off in Hungary - the government in Budapest has set itself this goal as part of the EU-wide expansion of renewable energies. For this purpose it is promoting the construction of new solar parks. Iqony Sens is supporting this course for more green electricity from solar power. It is now for the first time constructing eight PV projects in the Eastern-European EU member state.
Within the next eight months Iqony Sens will act as general contractor for the Austrian firm of Green Source GmbH and implement PV projects at five locations with a total installed capacity of 65 megawatts (MWp). There will be a total of 130 individual 500 kWp projects. On completion, around 78,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of green electricity will be fed into the Hungarian power grid each year. The contract, which is being implemented jointly with LSG Building Solutions GmbH, covers the planning and installation of turnkey systems and the associated grid connections near the Hungarian capital Budapest and at other locations in the north and east of the country.
Construction began in August
Iqony Sens began construction work at the various locations as early as August. By next spring, three PV parks will be built near the cities of Göd and Szöd with an installed capacity of 31.2 MWp. At the same time, two solar parks with 11.3 MWp are also scheduled for completion in Balassagyarmat in the north, together with open-space PV installations with a capacity of 22.5 MWp in the municipalities of Nyirbogdany and Nyirbator in the east of the country. In addition, 130 transformer stations will be built in order to feed the solar power generated into the local power grid.
Expiring KÁT licences lead to tight schedule
Green Source is once again relying on the efficient project management of Iqony Sens and its partner LSG, because the time schedule is tight due to the regulations in force in Hungary, where so-called KÁT licences are issued. These guarantee companies a fixed feed-in tariff for a period of up to 25 years. A total of 130 KÁT licences will be issued for the eight projects - but the feed-in of green electricity into the Hungarian grid must start before the summer of 2021.
Further expansion in Eastern Europe
Iqony Sens has already successfully implemented several projects in Eastern Europe. These include contracts for Green Source GmbH at several locations in Russia. Both in its own project development and in the realisation of open-space projects and for industrial customers, Iqony Sens, among others in cooperation with the LSG, will continue to drive growth on the Eastern European market. In addition to Hungary, the focus here is on Romania and Greece.
Hungary has great potential when it comes to solar power
At present the proportion of renewable energies in electricity generation in Hungary is around 13 percent - with solar energy accounting for only one to two percent. By way of comparison, in 2019 the corresponding figures for Germany were 40.2 and 7.4 percent respectively. In this field experts still see considerable untapped potential for photovoltaics in Hungary. The Hungarian government has also recognised this and is increasingly relying on small and large PV systems to increase the share of renewable energies. Iqony Sens projects are thus contributing to this national strategy.
Last but not least, Iqony Sens is also making a significant contribution to reducing CO2emissions with these projects. In future the projects will generate savings of around 43,800 tonnes of CO2 every year. By way of comparison, this is equivalent to the annual emissions of 12,250 medium-sized cars covering 25,000 kilometres a year.
Picture: Jaroslaw Grzywacz