GE to equip Korean solar power plant

GE Energy announced yesterday that it has signed a deal with Korea Hydro Nuclear Power to supply equipment for the construction of a three-megawatt solar power plant in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla province. The U.S. company will be providing 200-watt solar power modules. Parts will be manufactured at the GE plant in Newark, Delaware. Construction at the solar power plant begins this year, with completion slated for 2008. Energy generated at the plant will be supplied to the national grid. “This is a milestone project for the development of solar power in Korea and in all of Asia,” said Victor Abate, vice president of GE Energy. “It is GE’s largest single order for solar equipment to date, further illustrating that solar power is gaining recognition as a viable, commercial technology.” GE last year vowed to invest $1.5 billion annually in R&D for cleaner technologies until 2010. Korea Hydro Nuclear Power currently supplies 40 percent of the nation’s electricity. by Lee Ho-jeong