Evergreen Solar, Inc., a manufacturer of STRING RIBBON solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost silicon wafer manufacturing technology, announced today that a landmark installation placing more than 16,000 solar panels on the roof of the tunnel of Germany’s A3 highway using Evergreen Solar panels is nearing completion of its first phase of construction. When finished, the 2.8 megawatt solar installation will be one of Germany’s largest and first to be located on a public highway.

The installation, located near Aschaffenburg, Germany, occupies 2.7 kilometers of the A3 tunnel roof and, upon completion, will provide enough energy to power more than 600 average houses annually. German-based solar installer Ralos is overseeing the construction and working with Goldbach-Hoesbach, a German power provider. Goldbach-Hoesbach, which purchased the land from the German government, will oversee the projects inconnectivity to the power grid.  The investment in the project is €11 million, which will be paid back through cost savings over 16 years.

“This project is a testament to the fact that when both government and developers work together in a creative and goal-oriented way, positive results such as clean, renewable energy can be the result,” said Peter Rusch, Evergreen Solar’s director of marketing and sales for Europe, the Middle East and Asia. “Theoretically, there’s a huge amount of free space on highway bridges and tunnels. If this example is replicated throughout Germany, the country’s market share on solar energy could rise substantially.”