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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IQwind and Guascor announce partnership agreement to commercialize innovative wind turbine technology

IQwind, an Israel-based start-up backed by Terra Venture Partners, and Guascor, a Spanish industrial company, announced today that they will partner to commercialize and bring to market the IQGear, a variable gearbox for the wind industry. The partnership brings together IQwind`s innovative wind turbine technology and the operational and market expertise of Guascor, an international leader in the production and distribution of renewable energy power systems.


Increasing the overall potential and cost-effectiveness of wind as an alternative renewable energy source, IQwind claims that its variable gear can be both retrofitted into existing turbines and utilized as a standard component in newly-manufactured turbines. The high efficiency IQwind technology can reduce the cost of energy (COE) by up to 20% compared to the best existing wind turbines, according to the company.

Guascor will manufacture the IQGear according to design and specifications provided by IQwind. To support the IQGear production, a new manufacturing line will be established in the Guascor Power facility in the Basque Country (Spain).

According to the agreement between the companies, the initial ten gearboxes manufactured by Guascor will be used for testing, certification, and initial commercial installations retrofitting currently-operational turbines during 2010. The companies will scale up to bring additional retrofitted and new turbines to the European market in 2011 and beyond. According to the agreement, IQwind will lead the sales, marketing and design activities and shall continue to own any resulting Intellectual Property (IP).

"The partnership with IQwind reinforces Guascor´s vision and its commitment to renewable energy," said Mr. Cesar Fernandez de Velasco, CEO of Guascor. "The IQwind variable gear is an important development in wind-powered energy generation. It addresses the long standing challenge of efficiently turning a variable wind source into stable electrical current, and can make an immediate impact on the economics of wind projects. Guascor is delighted to lend its
manufacturing muscle and the operational experience of its executives to advance the establishment of IQGear as the leading gear design in the wind energy market. We look forward to rolling this exciting technology out to the market as early as 2010."

"Guascor brings manufacturing and wind expertise, more than 50 years of leadership in the power system industry, and a unique renewable energy strategy. These attributes make the company an ideal partner for IQwind in bringing this unique technology for improving power generation efficiency to the wind energy market," said IQwind founder and CEO Gideon Ziegelman.

"Partnering with a prominent player such as Guascor is a resounding validation of the value our variable gear technology brings to the wind energy market," added Ziegelman. "The cooperation with Guascor and the significant investment they have committed to in this agreement will greatly accelerate the introduction of IQGear into the wind energy market. This collaboration is a major step towards the transformation of this new technology into a revenue
generating product."

Guascor is currently planning to build a large wind farm in Argentina. The $2.4 billion, 600-900MW project will be located in Pico Truncado and is expected to take three years to complete.

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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.

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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