Supersized Solar Farms Sprout Around the World

Large solar farms account for the vast majority of panels installed around the world, but in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany, household solar power has about an equal share

Power utilities around the world are supersizing their solar farms, with a collection of more than 5 million photovoltaic panels in southern Egypt set to be globe's largest, NBC News reported. The $4 billion Benban solar park near Aswan will cover an area 10 times bigger than New York’s Central Park when completed next year and generate the equivalent output of two nuclear power plants combined. 

“There are huge savings for larger projects,” said Benjamin Attia, a solar analyst with Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. “Logistics, transport, construction and installation all benefit from scale economies." 

A challenge with solar farms is that typically they are located in remote locations. “The grid around new solar or wind farms will not be very strong," Daniel Kirschen, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, said. "So you’re going to need to reinforce the grid, and that can get quite expensive.” 

Large solar farms account for the vast majority of panels installed around the world, but in developed countries like the U.S. and Germany, household solar power has about an equal share, NBC News reported.

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