A huge solar power plant, covering the hills of a valley dotted with olive groves in southern Portugal, started delivering electricity to homes on Wednesday.
The 11-megawatt, $78.5 million plant — a joint project of GE Energy Financial Services, PowerLight Corporation, and Portuguese renewable energy company Catavento, spreads across a 150-acre hillside in Serpa. (GE is the parent of NBC, which is a partner in MSNBC.com.)
"Thanks to great Portuguese sunshine and high technology, this plant right here in Serpa is expected to produce the most power — more than 20 gigawatt-hours per year," said Kevin Walsh of GE Energy.
The new plant will produce enough power to supply 8,000 homes and will also prevent the emission of 30,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year when compared to fossil fuels.
"This is the most productive solar plant in the world, it will produce 40 percent more energy than the second largest one in Pocking, Germany," said Howard Wenger of Powerlight.
Portugal is almost entirely dependent on imported energy, but is developing large wave and solar power projects and building wind farms to supply some 750,000 homes.
It also is exploring new hydropower projects and plans to invest $10.8 billion in renewable energy projects over the next five years.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in January that his Socialist government wanted 45 percent of Portugal's total power consumption to come from renewable sources by 2010.
The project fits into Portugal's plans of reducing its reliance on imported energy and cutting output of greenhouse gasses that feed global warming.
Portugal's emissions have surged about 37 percent since 1990, one of the highest increases in the world.
There are also plans to build a solar power plant in the neighboring town of Moura.