Photos: World’s largest solar power plant

Germany isn’t the sunniest of countries, but it is a hotbed of solar power. And now it’s home to what the companies involved are calling the world’s largest solar electric power plant. On Friday, Silicon Valley-based SunPower marked the dedication of the Gut Erlasee Solar Park, a 12-megawatt facility located amid cropland near the Bavarian town of Arnstein. SunPower’s solar cells are used in about one-third of the “mover” panels–from German solar technology company Solon–that tilt and rotate to stay facing the sun throughout the\r\nday.

The Gut Erlasee plant uses solar energy to generate about 14,000 megawatt hours annually, enough to meet the demands of a town of about 9,000 inhabitants. Germany is said to account for 60 percent of the world market for solar energy.

The dedication of the Gut Erlasee Solar Park came shortly before Monday’s start of the 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition in Dresden. Conference organizers expect 2,500 scientists, politicians and industry representatives as interest continues to rise in solar energy, which last year accounted for worldwide revenue of $7.5 billion and a growth rate of 40 percent. In\r\nthis picture, a worker at German company SolarWorld cleans solar cells.

Silicon blocks like these at SolarWorld are used to produce solar cells. The boom in the market for solar energy gear has led to a global shortage of materials.