Kwangju, South Korea, 8 November: The world's largest solar power station will be built in South Korea by 2006, a provincial government said Monday [8 November].

Representatives from Sun Power and Geothermal Energy Co, a solar systems design company from the United States, and Sharp Electronics Corp of Japan came to South Korea to map out the final details of the construction of the station in the coastal county of Sinan, some 420 km southwest of Seoul, South Cholla Province government officials said.

Construction of the 15 MW solar power station will begin next February for completion in October 2006, it added.

"South Cholla Province is a blessed region, which receives the largest amount of solar radiation in the country," Park Joon-young, South Cholla Province governor, said. "The Sinan station will be the world's largest."

Sun Power will design and install the solar power systems, while Sharp will supply the cells needed to generate solar energy, the regional government said.

A total of 12 companies are seeking to establish solar power stations in the province to produce a combined 37 MW of solar energy.