GE investing in 20-megawatt solar greenhouse project in Sardinia

General Electric Co., the world’s biggest maker of power-generating equipment, invested $58 million in a 20-megawatt solar project that Moser Baer India Ltd. is building atop greenhouses in Sardinia.

The first five megawatts of capacity of the Su Scioffu project near Cagliari, Italy, began producing electricity Aug. 30 and the remainder is expected to go into service this month, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE said today in a statement.

GE has invested almost $1 billion of equity and debt in 46 solar power plants in six countries, and may back other renewable energy projects.

“Solar has continued to be a very interesting space for us in Europe,” Andrew Marsden, managing director of the company’s GE Energy Financial Services unit, said yesterday in an interview. “We are currently talking to Moser Baer about more projects in India and Europe.”

Moser Baer Clean Energy Ltd., the development unit of India’s second-largest maker of solar cells, will co-own the project, which will be on 66 acres (27 hectares) of greenhouses.

“We like the way the project supports jobs in agriculture.” Marsden said. “There is a stronger emphasis in Europe on not using arable land and encouraging building-mounted solar.”

Trina Solar Ltd. and other companies are providing solar panels for the project, Marsden said. Additional financial details of the project weren’t disclosed. The company made the statement from the Solar Power International conference in Dallas, Texas.