HelioFocus raises $10m from China's Sanhua and IC Green Energy

HelioFocus Ltd., an Israel-based solar thermal systems start-up, has raised more than $10 million from China's Zhejiang Sanhua Co. and existing investor IC Green Energy.

HelioFocus announced the investment last week at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, where HelioFocus is developing its solar thermal technology to boost electricity production of existing power plants.

HelioFocus CEO Ory Zik said Sanhua, the Chinese maker of appliance components whose stock is traded on the Shenzhen stock exchange, would be not just a financial investor in the company, but will also produce some solar thermal components.

"We will be able to reduce costs and move relatively quickly to manufacturing," Zik told Reuters. "Components that can be made at lower cost in China will be produced there."

Sanhua, which will hold 30 percent of HelioFocus, will invest $9.25 million directly in the company and will acquire $1.25 million worth of shares from its founders.

IC Green Energy, the renewable energy investment arm of holding company Israel Corp, is the largest shareholder in HelioFocus with a 40 percent stake. It will invest $2.3 million in HelioFocus alongside Sanhua's investment.

The rest of HelioFocus is held by workers and management, including Sass Somekh, Co-Chairman of HelioFocus and Founder of Musea Ventures.

In 2008, HelioFocus raised a $10 million first round of financing from IC Green Energy, and the company is also a recipient of an $800,000 BIRD Foundation grant. The current investment from Sanhua and IC Green Energy values HelioFocus at $45 million.

Zik said HelioFocus, whose system converts the sun's rays into hot air to produce electricity, will release its first product in 2012 and is working on a pilot project in Israel. Funds raised from Sanhua will be used by HelioFocus to continue its research.

"We believe that the thermo-solar market will grow significantly, together with the rapid global development and ongoing legislation in the clean energy market," Yom Tov Samia, Co-Chairman of HelioFocus and president and CEO of IC Green Energy, said in a statement.

Jacky Eldan, Israeli consul general in China, said the door opened by Sanhua will pave the way for more cooperation and investments of Chinese companies in Israel.

HelioFocus' financing announcement is the latest in a series of successes for Israeli solar thermal companies. Siemens AG bought Israel-based Solel Solar Systems Ltd. for about $418 million in October 2009, AORA Solar raised $5 million in February 2009, and BrightSource Energy, which conducts R&D through subsidiary BrightSource Industries Israel, has announced a series of mega projects in the U.S. over the past year

Congrulations to Ory Zik and the rest of the team at HelioFocus!

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Siemens to buy Solel Solar for $418 million

German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG has announced that it will buy solar thermal power company Solel Solar Systems Ltd. for $418 million.

Siemens will buy the Beit Shemesh, Israel-based company from Ecofin Ltd., a London-based investment company which had purchased a stake in Solel in January 2008 at a company value of $150 million.

Solel has a workforce of over 500 and is one of the world´s two leading suppliers of solar receivers, which are key components in parabolic trough solar power plants. Solel posted revenue totaling almost $90 million in the first six months of this year, and Solel is also a leader in the planning and construction of solar fields.

“Siemens and Solel are a perfect match,” said René Umlauft, CEO of Siemens’ Renewable Energy Division. “We are the market leader in steam turbines for solar thermal power plants and, with the power block, we can offer a key part for solar power plants – the part that is responsible for power generation. Solel boasts high-efficiency receiver technology and comprehensive expertise in the engineering and construction of solar fields. In the future, we’ll be able to offer the key components for the construction of parabolic trough power plants from a single source and to further enhance the efficiency of these plants.”

Siemens is part of the Desertec Industrial Initiative, an ambitious solar project that could theoretically supply up to 15 percent of Europe's energy needs by 2050 by building plants in the Sahara desert region.

“Together, we will utilize our know-how in these core competencies to further optimize the water/steam cycle and to further boost the efficiency of solar thermal power plants. Thus we can accelerate the use of this clean technology,” said Avi Brenmiller, CEO of Solel Solar Systems. “Combined with Siemens’ financial strength and its global sales and marketing activities, this will open up promising prospects for our business and hence also for all of Solel’s employees.”

A Solel spokeswoman said the base of the company's operations will remain in Israel.

In August, Siemens announced that it invested $15 million for a stake in Israeli solar company Arava Power Co., which is based at Kibbutz Ketura north of Eilat.

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Ashalim solar thermal tender delayed again

The tender for the solar thermal power project at Ashalim, Israel has suffered its third delay, because not all the regulatory permits have been obtained, the electricity production license has not yet been written, and the financial aid criteria for the winner have been formulated, according a report in Globes.

Globes reports that the deadline for submitting bids to the joint Ministry of Finance and Ministry of National Infrastructures tender committee, headed by Deputy Accountant General Avi Dor, has been pushed back from October 21, 2009 to December 10, 2009 .

The Ministries of Finance and National Infrastructures have allowed the seven bidders who passed the prequalification stage of the tender more time to prepare their bids.

The $700-800 million build-operate-transfer (BOT) tender is for construction and operation of two solar thermal power plants with a total output of 220 Megawatts.

The seven consortia participating in the Ashalim tender are:

• Shikun u'Binui Holdings Ltd. (Housing and Construction), Solel Solar Systems Ltd., and Bateman Engineering NV;
• Dor Alon Energy in Israel (1988) Ltd., Minrav Holdings Ltd., Germany's Solar Millennium AG, and France's Alstom SA;
• IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. unit Clal Energy Ltd. and Spain's Abengoa SA;
• BrightSource Energy Inc., Veolia Environnement SA, Dalkia Israel Ltd., and Solar Power Inc. of the US;
• Shafir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd. and France's EDF Energy SA;
• Ormat Industries Ltd. and Germany's Bosch Solar Energy AG;
• Israel Corporation subsidiary IC Green Energy Ltd. (ICG) and Canada's SkyPower Corporation

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Solel awarded $2.6 million grant from Spanish Government for solar thermal manufacturing facility

Solel Solar Systems, Ltd. recently announced it has received a $2.6 million grant from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise of the Andalusian Region of Spain to be used for the construction and development of a facility to build solar thermal fields components. The facility, in La Carolina, Spain, will be Solel's first manufacturing plant in Spain, and will include lines for the production of parabolic reflectors, metal supports for solar collectors, and other essential components used for conversion of sunlight to electricity.

The construction of the plant in La Carolina is expected to be completed in 2012, with some manufacturing lines becoming operational later this year. Total investment by Solel in manufacturing plants in Spain is expected to reach $140 million, and it will employ 300 workers in La Carolina by 2012.

Solel commenced operations in Spain in 2006 and supplies technology to 15 solar thermal power plants, with a combined capacity of 750 MW. In addition to being a technology provider, Solel has joined with Sacyr Vallehermoso, a leading Spanish construction company, in a joint venture to build three power plants with a total capacity of 150 MW. The first of these plants, the 50 MW Lebrija 1 facility, will begin operations in 2010.

"We are grateful to the governments of Andalusia and of Spain for the confidence they have shown us and their commitment to both technological advancement and renewable energy," said Avi Brenmiller, President and CEO of Solel. "Through their policies, Spanish governments are encouraging the development of new sources of energy, and contribute to the creation of new workplaces in Spain. Our new facility will deliver Solel's state-of-the-art equipment and technology that reduce the cost of producing solar energy".

Solel is currently building three solar power plants in Andalusia, Spain, and its American subsidiary, Solel, Inc., is developing the 553 MW Mojave Solar Park in California. Nine power plants in California using Solel's technology have been operating successfully for over twenty years, producing 350 MW of electricity and eliminating the need for two million barrels of oil annually.

Solel employs about 500 workers, with its headquarters, manufacturing plant and R&D center in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

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Siemens, Areva, Alstom bidding for Israeli solar firm Solel

Siemens AG, Areva SA and Alstom SA, three of Europe’s largest engineering companies, are competing for control of Solel Solar Systems Ltd., as demand for renewable energy rises, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Solel, based in Beit Shemesh, Israel, is a leading developer of utility-scale solar thermal power plants. The bids from Siemens, Areva and Alstom may value Solel at $300 million to $400 million, said Bloomberg's sources, who declined to be identified because talks are private. Shikun & Binui Ltd., an Israeli real-estate company controlled by the Arison Group, is also weighing a bid, according to a source. The winner may be picked as early as this month if they can agree on price, two sources told Bloomberg.

“Engineering companies such as Siemens, ABB, GE or Alstom will in the long term need to compensate for declining orders in their conventional power generation businesses, making renewable energy strategically very interesting for them,” said Stephan Wulf, who analyzes renewable energy companies at Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie. in Frankfurt.

Solel develops and builds solar thermal power plants and makes solar receivers, a main component for the facilities that collect sunlight with mirrors to generate steam that powers turbines. Solel, which employs about 400 people, has solar fields in California and is supplying new plants in Spain.

Following a $150mm investment in 2008, Ecofin Ltd., a London-based investment company specialized in utilities and infrastructure, owns 63 percent of Solel’s issued share capital.

Solel reported sales of $37.7 million in 2008, on a net loss of $16.9 million, according to the Ecofin filing.

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Arison plans private solar thermal power plant in Negev

Arison Holdings Ltd. subsidiary Housing and Construction Holding Co. Ltd. (Shikun u'Binui) plans to build a large solar power plant in the Negev, costing $400-500 million, according to a report in "Globes".

The solar thermal power plant would reportedly generate at least 100 megawatts of electricity on a 3,500-dunam (875-acre) site. If constructed, it will be Israel's largest privately owned solar power station.

Shikun u'Binui is also participating in two government tenders for the construction of solar thermal and photovoltaic power plants at Ashalim in the Negev. Shikun u'Binui is partnering with Solel and Bateman Litwin NV in the tender for the solar thermal power plant, and partnering with Spain's Elecnor SA in the tender for the photovoltaic power plant.

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Solel to supply Ibereolica with solar receivers

Solel Solar Systems Ltd. has made its largest single sale of solar receiver technology -- a contract to supply more than 190,000 UVAC 2008 receiver systems to Ibereolica Solar SL, a Spanish parabolic trough solar thermal plant developer.

The receivers will power eight 50-megawatt solar power plants that Ibereolica is developing in southern Spain. Beit Shemesh-based Solel will begin deliveries of the solar receivers in 2009.

This is Solel's second large contract for solar receivers this month, with a combined value of over $250 million. Two weeks ago, the company signed a contract with a Spanish consortium, whose name was not released, for 70,000 receivers. Solel also recently announced plans to build in Andalusia a manufacturing facility for solar field components.

The UVAC 2008 provides solar power plant developers with the most advanced commercially tested technology for capturing sunlight and converting it to heat for clean power generation. Ibereolica's plants will include thermal heat storage so the heat from the solar receivers can be converted to electricity during evening hours.

Solel Solar president and CEO Avi Brenmiller said, "We are extremely proud of this very significant deal with Ibereolica, one of Spain's elite developers of clean energy. A growing number of renewable energy providers, in Spain and around the world, are choosing Solel's solar thermal technology because it is the best way to create maximum power from available sunshine."

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Solel lands record deal for solar receivers

Solar energy technology company Solel Solar Systems Ltd. has won a contract to supply 70,000 thermo solar receivers for three new solar power plants in Spain. The company will supply its UVAC 2008 receivers to two unnamed Spanish infrastructure companies, which are jointly building the power plants. The plants will have a production capacity of 50 megawatts each. The current order will be filled over the course of 2009. This is the largest order for the company's systems to date, and follows an earlier order for 46,000 units, which Solel announced in January.

(I actually had an opportunity to witness a presentation earlier today by Ilan Sharon, business development manager at Solel, and I was impressed to learn that Solel currently has a $400 million backlog of orders, equivalent to 700 MW of solar energy.)

Beit Shemesh-based Solel says its system captures sunlight and converts it to heat for clean power generation, with 20% less heat loss than other receivers in the market, according to testing by the National Renewal Energy Laboratory of the US Department of Energy in January 2008. Heat loss measurement is a critical indicator of receiver efficiency.

Solel CEO Avi Brenmiller said, "This large and unprecedented order is a testament to Solel's ability to offer a compelling and economical solution for the production of clean and renewable energy. The solar power market is growing rapidly, and we intend to continue to lead the way with unrivaled products and increased production.

Breakout quarter for cleantech investments in Israel

The Cleantech Group reports that the cleantech sector in Israel experienced a breakout in the first quarter of 2008, with $132 million invested across nine companies, the highest ever for the country.

The record results were driven mainly by a $105 million investment in solar thermal concentrator company Solel Solar Systems, but are nevertheless impressive.

Israel Cleantech Ventures is ranked as one of the Top Five Global Venture Investors (by number of participations). The fund reportedly invested $16.6 million in 4 deals.

Overall, cleantech investments in North America, Europe and Israel totaled $1.25 billion in the first quarter of 2008, up 42% from the same period a year ago.

See: Cleantech Group press release.

BrightSource Energy signs large solar deal with PG&E

BrightSource Energy announced this week that it has entered into a series of contracts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for renewable solar power. The first three contracts are for a total of 500 megawatts (MW) of power to be supplied from three solar thermal electric generating projects. PG&E also signed two contracts for options on an additional 400 MW of solar power, which would bring the total amount of power purchased under these five agreements to 900 MW.

This is one of the largest solar thermal power deals to date. Building the five plants will cost between $2 billion to $3 billion, and Morgan Stanley will reportedly lead the financing of the first plant.

According to Earth2Tech, the plants will use BrightSource’s power tower design, which includes an array of mirrors that reflect the sun’s light onto a central receiver full of water, creating steam and powering a turbine. The plants, the first of which could come online as early as 2011, are to be built in the Mojave Desert.

Luz II, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of BrightSource Energy, provides product development and engineering, project engineering and management, and solar field manufacturing and supply services to BrightSource's plants. Luz II is headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel.

Brightsource COO and Luz II president Israel Kroizer, in an interview with "Globes", says that if PG&E exercises its options, BrightSource's solar power stations will provide 2.7% of the company's electricity supply.

Luz II is apparently due to launch a commercial pilot of its solar thermal power station at Rotem Industries Ltd. in Dimona in the Negev in a few weeks. The station will generate a few megawatts of solar thermal energy.

Privately held, BrightSource Energy is headquartered in Oakland, California. Its principle investors include: VantagePoint Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, J.P. Morgan, and Chevron Technology Ventures.

Last July, PG&E also agreed to buy 553 megawatts of solar power from Solel's Mojave solar park, which is under construction and due to begin operating in 2011. Solel, based in Beit Shemesh, is another leading developer of solar thermal energy technology.

Solar Roundup

What follows is a selection of recent stories and links related to the solar industry in Israel.

Arava planning $2.5 billion solar power station

An international project management firm recently signed a memorandum of understanding for construction of a $2.5 billion solar power station in the Eilot Region in the Arava desert. The project, which is expected to develop over a five-year period, involves installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels that will eventually supply up to 500 megawatts of electricity. The agreement was signed by the Arava Power Company of Kibbutz Ketura located in the southern Arava.

SolarPower raises $1.1m

Photovoltaic energy system integration company SolarPower Israel has raised $1.1 million at a company value of a few million dollars from Precede Technologies and Rosenram Development Ltd. The company plans to use the funding to expand its business in Israel and internationally.

SolarPower co-CEOs Avinoam Levy and Alon Tamari founded the company in 2003. The company anticipates rapid growth in Israel's photovoltaic energy market following an update to the Electricity Regulations to allow the government to buy electricity generated by solar energy systems installed at businesses, commercial enterprises, and private homes at nearly four times the rate of electricity generated by usual means.

IEC wants to bid on Negev solar plant

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is seeking to participate in the tender for the construction and operation of the solar power plant to be built at Ashalim in the Negev. IEC wants to be a sub-contractor, providing planning, management, and construction services for one of the consortia that will participate in the tender. IEC has begun negotiations to this end with Solel Solar Systems Ltd..

Skypower mulls bid for Negev solar project

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Canadian renewable energy company SkyPower Corporation may participate in the tender for the Negev solar power plant at Ashalim. The $600-700 million tender is due to be published by the end of the month.

A SkyPower delegation recently visited Israel and held preliminary talks about cooperation with some of the Israeli companies planning to bid in the tender. SkyPower also asked for full information about the project from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Infrastructures, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

SkyPower is one of Canada's largest renewable energy companies. It specializes in the development, construction, and management of wind farms and solar energy power stations. The company is currently involved in 70 renewable energy projects in various stages of development, with aggregate capacity of 7,000 megawatts (MW). Most of the projects are in Canada and the US.

The BOT (build, operate, transfer) tender is for a 250-MW solar power station that will produce 2.5% of Israel's electricity needs. Other potential builders of the plant include Israeli solar power companies Solel and Luz II, a subsidiary of BrightSource Energy, Israel Corp. unit IC Green Energy Ltd., and Housing and Construction Holding Co. Ltd. (Shikun u'Binui). Spanish energy giant Abengoa and Babcock & Brown Capital Ltd. of Australia have also expressed interest in participating in the tender.

Finance and Infrastructures Ministries in dispute over technology for Israel's first solar power station

"If the Ministry of National Infrastructures insists on building a photovoltaic power station at Ashelim in the Negev, it will have to pay producers four times more per kilowatt/hour than for a thermal power station," Solel Solar Systems Ltd. EVP and CTO Eli Mandelberg told "Globes". He made the comment in response to the dispute between the Ministries of Finance and National Infrastructures over the technology to be used in Israel's first solar powered station.

Solel Solar is building solar power stations using its proprietary thermal technology developed several years ago. The company is expected to participate in the tender for the 250 megawatt solar power plant at Ashalim in the Negev. Mandelberg said that all tenders for solar power stations currently being published around the world are based on thermal solar energy, rather than photovoltaic energy, because it is too expensive. For this reason, photovoltaic technology is mainly used for small household or communications facilities, which cannot be linked up to electricity grids.

Mandelberg added that countries interested in photovoltaic technology are those willing to pay household electricity producers a premium to sell the electricity to the grid. Even then, only small electricity producers are involved. He said that if the Ministry of National Infrastructures insists, Israel would become the first country in the world to build a large photovoltaic power station. "It's easy to understand the Ministry of Finance's objections to the idea, since we're talking about a large expenditure on an immature technology. The Ministry of National Infrastructures isn't looking at the economic side of the picture, but wants to participate in technological development," he said.

Photovoltaic technology in based on the using silicon crystals to convert light rays into electricity. Thermal solar energy uses parabolic mirrors to collect sunlight and convert into heat to generate steam, which in turn operates turbines to produce electricity.

UK's Ecofin buys 40% of Solel Solar Systems

It is being reported that UK infrastructure investment company Ecofin is buying 40% of Israeli solar energy technology company Solel Solar Systems Ltd. at a value of $150 million.

The world's largest solar thermal company, Solel designs, manufactures and installs solar fields for utility scale power, on-site power plants and industrial solar heating & air-conditioning systems. Solel's patented technology uses reflectors to concentrate the sun's energy and produce heat, which is then transformed into electricity through the use of steam-powered turbines.

In 2007, Beit Shemesh-based Solel entered into an agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to build the world's largest solar plant - to be established in California's Mojave Desert. The project will deliver 553 megawatts of solar power, enough to power 400,000 homes, to PG&E's customers in northern and central California. When fully operational in 2011, the Mojave Solar Park plant will cover up to 6,000 acres in the Mojave Desert.

Solel's technology has already been in use for almost 20 years at a group of solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert, providing 350 megawatts of clean, renewable energy and eliminating the need for 2 million barrels of oil a year.

Solel also has an agreement to build three 50 megawatt solar thermal power plants in Spain, and last week Solel signed a landmark contract to supply 46,000 solar thermal receivers to to Aries Termoelectrica, which is building a solar power plant in Castile-La Mancha, Spain.

Next up for Solel: bidding for a contract to build and operate Israel's planned 250 megawatt solar power plant at Ashalim in the Negev Desert.

As described on its web site, Solel’s technology converts sunshine into useful thermal energy, and subsequently into electricity, by way of parabolic mirrors that concentrate the solar energy onto solar thermal receivers containing a heat transfer fluid. The heat transfer fluid is circulated and heated through the receivers, and the heat is released to a series of heat exchangers to generate super-heated steam. The steam powers a turbine/generator to produce electricity delivered to a utility’s electric grid.

A central computerized tracking facility enables optimal absorption of the sun’s energy by automatically adjusting the alignment of the parabolic mirrors. From the moment the sun rises until it dips over the horizon, all of its rays are captured and converted into usable energy.

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IC Green Energy to enter Negev solar power plant tender

Sources inform "Globes" that Israel Corp. subsidiary IC Green Energy will participate in the BOT (build, operate, transfer) tender for the Negev solar power plant at Ashalim.

IC Green Energy (ICG), headed by CEO Yom Tov Samia, was founded in 2006 by Israel Corp. to serve as its renewable energy arm. So far, ICG has examined a number of overseas projects in the field of alternative fuel and electricity generation. According to its web site, the company is focused on biofuel (biodiesel & ethanol), solar energy and the production of biofuel and energy from biomass.

Israel's first tender for a solar power plant will be for the construction of two power stations that will generate 250 megawatts altogether, amounting to 2.5% of Israel's power production. The project is valued at $600-700 million.

Other potential builders of the plant include Israeli solar power companies Solel and Luz II, a subsidiary of BrightSource Energy. Spanish energy giant Abengoa and Babcock & Brown Capital Ltd. of Australia have also expressed interest in participating in the tender.

For additional background information on this project, see:

"Israel Plans 250-MW solar power plant"

"Australian fund considers Negev solar plant bid"

Solel signs landmark contract for solar receivers

Globes reports that Solel Solar Systems Ltd. will supply 46,000 thermosolar receptors to Aries Termoelectrica for two 50-megawatt power stations that the company is building in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The thermosolar receivers will be delivered in August. Solel Solar did not disclose the size of the deal.

Solel Solar will supply its newly launched UVAC 2008 thermosolar receivers, which will be the main component of Aries Termoelectrica's power stations. The receptors will enable Aries to increase clean power production at lower cost than other solar power stations. According to Solel Solar, the advanced technology in the UVAC 2008 will result in increased annual output of 6480 MWh and additional annual revenues of € 2.0 million at each 50 MW plant.

Beit Shemesh-based Solel Solar has 300 employees and operates in both the US and Spain through local subsidiaries. The company's proprietary technology is currently utilized in nine commercial power stations in California with an aggregate 354 MW capacity, saving two million barrels of oil a year.

Solel Solar and Grupo Sacyr Vallehermoso SA are building an $800 million 150 MW project in Spain. The company is also upgrading a 100 MW project in California for FPL Energy, and will sell 553 MW to California’s PG & E Corp. from the $2 billion Mojave Solar Park, which is under construction and due to begin operating in 2011.

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Israel plans 250-MW solar power plant

Israel recently announced plans for the construction of a 250 megawatt solar power plant in the Negev, which is estimated will cost $600-$700 million. When completed, it will be one of the largest solar power plants in the world.

"Globes" reports that the World Bank is considering financing the project.

According to Ha'aretz, the tender for building the plant will not give preference to local firms, meaning that foreign firms can participate in the tender without a local partner. The decision was made, among other things, to avoid the impression that the tender was written for the benefit of the only two Israeli companies who could compete for the power station: Solel and Luz II, a subsidiary of BrightSource Energy.

The cabinet hopes that this change will make the tender more attractive to international firms with experience in the solar energy industry, and that the new conditions will allow the setting of appropriate minimum requirements for professionalism and financial strength for the bidders on the project.

Minister of National Infrastructures Benjamin Ben-Eliezer recently announced that the first stage of the tender will likely be published next month.

The power plant, which will be located near Ashalim in the western Negev and produce 250 megawatts of electricity, will be Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), similar to Route 6, the Trans-Israel Highway. The winning bidder builds the plant, operates it for the license period, and at the end of the franchise transfers full ownership to the state.

A number of foreign companies have already expressed interest in the project, including Spanish energy giant Abengoa. Abengoa created a U.S. subsidiary earlier this year, Solucar Power, Inc., to respond to utility requests for electricity using concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies.

The real remaining question is which technology will be required for the power station: solar thermal or photovoltaic. The solar thermal method harnesses the sun's energy to heat a material, such as oil or water, from which it is possible to generate electricity, while the photovoltaic system transforms solar energy directly into electricity.

However, it also appears that even if one of the possible two tenders requires a photovoltaic system, the total amount of electricity from such a plant will not be over 50 megawatts, out of the total of 250 megawatts.