The Spanish solar energy company, ACS/Cobra Energy, has confirmed that it is interested in developing a large solar energy plant in Australia.

ACS/Cobra Energy operates a number of solar thermal plants in Spain, including the Andasol-1 and Andasol-2 solar thermal plants near Grenada. The Andasol plants, with a combined capacity of 100 megawatts are the largest solar power plants in Europe.

Andasol Power Plant (image by BSMPS via Wikimedia)

ACS/Cobra Energy is proposing a much larger plant, of about 250 megawatts, for Australia.

According to Cobra Energy’s Australian chief, Alan Atchison, building a 250MW plant would involve capital expenditure of about $1 billion, of which ACS/Cobra could easily provide a $666 million share with the balance coming from Federal and, possibly, State government programs.

The company is considering three possible sites, two in Queensland and one near Mildura in Victoria.
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The French nuclear power company, Areva, has acquired the concentrating solar-power plant manufacturer, Ausra, for an undisclosed price. Ausra was founded by Australian, David Mills, who developed the technology when he was head of the Solar Energy Group at the University of Sydney. Dr Mills moved to California to secure funding from venture capitalists including Vinod Khosla.

Ausra’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector technology captures the sun’s power to produce electricity. Mirrors focus sunlight to heat water in  pipes and the resulting steam drives a turbine to generate electricity.

Because concentrating solar power systems produce steam to make electricity, Areva believes that the technology is more closely aligned with its nuclear engineering business, which also uses steam to generate electricity, than with other solar businesses in which photovoltaic cells convert light to electricity.

Areva believes that the market for engineering services around concentrating solar power will expand rapidly this decade and is forecasting a 20 percent per annum growth rate to an installed capacity of over 20 gigawatts by 2020.

The acquisition means that Ausra’s technology is more likely to be deployed on a large scale because utilities and financiers are typically reluctant to work with technology start-ups.

Fresnel solar concentrators

Ausra, the solar thermal power company formed in the United States by Australian, David Mills, has signed two deals for its technology.

Robert Fishman, Ausra’s chief executive, said his company has agreed to build a 23-megawatt solar steam plant adjacent to a 750-megawatt coal-fired power station at Kogan Creek on Queensland’s Darling Downs. The company’s mirror arrays and boilers will produce supplemental steam to boost the coal plant’s electricity production.

Ausra has also signed a contract to provide a solar steam system to a German developer, MENA Cleantech, which plans to build a 100-megawatt hybrid solar farm in Jordan.

Mr Fishman said that a third contract, for a project in the United States, would be announced soon.