The new solar facility started producing power in early December and is expected to be fully commissioned in early 2010.

The company’s SM programme is designed to increase uptime and reduce levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for entire PV solar array sites. The support programme extends to all industry brands of inverters, modules and tracking equipment, and to the entire balance-of-system performance. The programme includes SM Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) to reduce both operation and maintenance costs, as well as SM, PM to manage preventative maintenance across the complete array.

Hans Betz, CEO of Advanced Energy, said: “Customers can rely on one source, Advanced Energy, to provide the most comprehensive service offering and optimize the return on their investment. This agreement demonstrates our commitment to delivering solutions that reduce LCOE at customer sites as well as providing world-class services that span the complete lifecycle of those sites. SM is gaining strong momentum with several successful site implementations over the past year. We will continue to leverage our global service expertise and infrastructure to help our customers achieve their goals.”

Tim Gelbar, president of AMEC’s power and process Americas business, said: “We are delighted to enter into this agreement with Advanced Energy and look forward to delivering enhanced cost and performance efficiencies to our customer.”