SunPower to build solar power plant in Spain

PARIS — Solar-cell supplier SunPower Corp. announced its Spanish subsidiary, The Naturener Group, will design and build a solar power plant with 8 megawatts of generating capacity in the Extremadura region of Spain.

The Silicon Valley-based company said it expects the plan to be operational in Sept. of 2008.

"Once again we are teaming with Naturener to deliver clean, reliable solar power to the rapidly expanding Spanish market," commented Marco Antonio Northland, general manager of SunPower's European operations. "By using the industry-leading SunPower Tracker technology, Naturener will maximize the solar plant's energy delivery, while optimizing land use and reducing related costs."

SunPower is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. Recently, SunPower has concluded numerous agreements that aim to maintain the company's leading position on the solar power generation market.

Mid-December, SunPower acquired Solar Solutions, a solar systems integrator based in Faenza, Italy, for an undisclosed amount. SunPower also acquired Berkeley-based PowerLight Corp., a maker of large-scale residential and commercial solar power systems, in January 2007 for $330 million.