cleantech.com
September 1, 2009
California solar technology developer also expects to begin commercial operations within the next month at its 5-MW demonstration power plant under a PPA with Southern California Edison. Pasadena, Calif.-based eSolar has signed an agreement with Irving, Texas-based Fluor (NYSE:FLR) for the engineering firm to develop designs for a commercial, 46-MW power plant using solar thermal technology.
eSolar, with one demonstration plant under its belt, has tapped Fluor to optimize the cost and performance of its existing designs, said Rob Rogan, senior vice president for North American markets for eSolar. Then, eSolar plans to license out the instructions to speed the time to market for power plants based on its proprietary technology, built in multiples of 46 MW. "ESolar's bandwidth is not as great as any of the major energy developers," Rogan told the Cleantech Group. "This is effectively a blueprint that developers around the world can use for deploying eSolar technology."
Rogan declined to share financial terms of the agreement, or specify when the designs are expected to be complete. He said he expects the licensing agreements to make up the largest portion of the company's future revenue, but that eSolar still plans to develop its own power plants in the future.
eSolar developed a modular, scalable solar thermal power technology that focuses thousands of mirrors on a single point to efficiently harvest the sun's energy and reduce costs (see Cleantech Group picks winners and losers in concentrated solar thermal). The key element of eSolar's "secret sauce" lies in software that operates the solar field with the necessary degree of precision and reliability, Rogan said.
Fluor's engineers plan to study eSolar's existing designs, in addition to working with the startup's team and studying the 5-MW Sierra SunTower facility. ESolar commissioned Sierra in August, heralding it as the first to use power-tower technology in the United States (see eSolar completes 5-MW power-tower solar plant as NRG waits in wings).
"eSolar's focus has always been on the technology portion," Rogan said. "Our corporate-level goal is to have the most MWs of technology deployed worldwide, and we realized early on that, if we went to build the Sierra power plant and waited until it was up and running to have third-party developers begin building other plants based on our technology, we'd be waiting a long time."
Rogan said eSolar has connected the Sierra SunTower facility to the grid and is now delivering test energy. The company plans to start commercial operations "in the next month or so," he said, which would allow eSolar to begin fulfilling its power-purchase agreement with utility Southern California Edison (see SCE brings more solar thermal to California). Rogan said there are a few minor things to be done, such as installing sprinklers and paving the driveway. "The steam conditions out of the tower are very close to our design points, which we're thrilled about, and we essentially see the performance we expected to see," he said.
Rogan said eSolar plans to sell the licenses around the globe, with the exception of India. India's Acme Group paid $30 million for a 5-percent stake in eSolar, giving it the exclusive license to eSolar's technology in India, as well as the right to develop 1,000 MW of solar thermal projects in the next 10 years (see Solar sell-off accelerates). Acme said last month that it's on schedule to commission part of its first 10-MW solar thermal plant in Rajasthan in the first quarter of next year (see Acme plans to beat eSolar on cost of solar thermal in India). However, eSolar's deal with Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG) does not include an exclusivity clause, leaving eSolar to develop its own power plants or sell licenses to developers in North America.
In February, NRG paid $10 million for an equity stake and the rights to develop three projects for which eSolar had PPAs: a 92-MW plant for El Paso Electric in New Mexico, a 92-MW plant for Northern California's PG&E, and a 245-MW plant under a PPA with Southern California Edison (see NRG Energy, eSolar sign 500 MW solar deal). NRG plans to begin construction on the New Mexico project next summer.
Rogan said part of the appeal of Fluor was the company's extensive experience in engineering, procurement and construction. In 2007, China's LDK Solar contracted Fluor to design and engineer a $1.2 billion polysilicon plant in Xinyu City (see LDK Solar building $1B polysilicon plant). In 2008, Fluor received the contract to build the plant, expected to be the world's largest polysilicon facility when it goes into production this year, according to Fluor.
Fluor and Airtricity, which has since been acquired by Scottish and Southern Energy, launched the 500-MW Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind project off the Suffolk coast of the United Kingdom (see UK approves Greater Gabbard windfarm). Fluor began offshore construction this summer, with the first turbines expected to be operational in 2009 and all turbines by late 2010. When complete, the project is expected to be the world's largest offshore windfarm (see Scottish and Southern signs $3B in wind contracts). "Our internal resources are limited compared to a company like Fluor," Rogan said. Last year, eSolar raised a $130 million round from Idealab, Google and Oak Investment Partners (see Going modular with eSolar). It has 135 employees.
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