Solel Solar Systems, Ltd., a world leader in solar thermal technology for solar systems and central power plants for clean electricity, announced that an agreement has been signed with Sacyr-Vallehermoso, a large Spanish infrastructure concern, to build three solar power plants in Spain with a total capacity of 150MW and at an estimated overall value of US$890 million. Within the frame agreement, Solel's scope of supply for all three projects is estimated at around US$500 million.
For Solel, based in Israel, this marks the first turnkey power project to be delivered in Spain on a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis. The project also enables Solel to act as provider of solar energy in Europe for the first time.
The current price per kilowatt/hour for produced solar thermal electricity in Spanish electricity projects stands at 30 cents. The rate is subsidized by the Spanish Government for a period of 25 years in order to support & encourage the innovation and implementation of alternative domestic energy sources, environmentally friendly clean electricity and to support local electricity production.
Solel is the successor company to Luz Industries, the builder of the nine SEGS systems operating successfully in California's Mojave Desert for the past 20 years, that produce 350 MW of electricity for 500,000 consumers and eliminate the need for two million barrels of oil annually.
Solel’s parabolic trough solar 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 when the sun rises until it dips over the horizon, all of the sun’s rays are captured and converted into usable energy.
The “Solel 6” collector increases overall yearly production of electricity by 30% compared to original SEGS collectors. SOLEL#6 is the upgraded version of the LS2 parabolic trough and the sixth generation of this well known and proven technology. It is designed for mass production and cost reduction by economies of scale. At the core of the collector is the UVAC vacuum tube receiver which has proven unique thermal efficiency, reliability and durability.
Led by a team of solar professionals, Solel’s engineering staff combines proven experience with field-tested know-how and draws on more than twenty years of solar thermal research and commercial implementations. Solel employs more than 200 people in their Beit Shemesh, Israel headquarters and its U.S. subsidiary.
Solel is in the process of developing a solar power station in the Ashalim area in the Negev Desert, Israel. The power station will initially produce 150 Megawatt of power for 50,000 homes. Upon completion, it will produce 500 MW of power for Negev communities.
Under the plan, Solel will establish a consortium to finance and build the power station, which it estimates will cost $1 billion. The state has promised to buy the electricity under the terms of a contract to be signed by the parties.
The agreement will include the cost of the energy plus a premium for producers of clean energy. The premium is intended to attract more companies to the market. The cost of the first stage of the project is $250 million.
Solel is supplying solar collectors, under a $10 million contract, to Solargenix Energy, who is building the Nevada Solar One, a 64-megawatt thermal solar facility. The plant will use Solel's solar trough system which uses long parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight on a pipe, filled with heat transfer fluid, inside a vacuum tube. The fluid is heated as high as 752 degrees F (400 degrees C). Heat is then exchanged to water to produce steam to spin a turbine and thus generate electricity.
They also have a contract to upgrade (7) SEGS solar power stations in California that are owned an operated by FPL Energy. Under the contract, Solel Solar Systems will be the sole technology contractor, supplying FPL Energy with 48,000 solar third-generation thermosolar collectors and heat transport units
An attractive feature of thermal-solar would seem to be its inherent storage capability. Does anyone have any insight as to how well this works--ie, can the molten salt store enough energy to provide the full plant output throughout the hours of darkness?
Posted by: david foster | November 08, 2006 at 05:01 PM
With molten salt storage, capacity is determined by the size of the tanks. So, yes, it is technically feasible to build a tanks big enough for 24/7 operation of a solar thermal power plant. Obviously, the collectors need to be big enough to both operate the plant during the day and heat the molten salt for operation during the night.
Whether this is economical depends on a lot of factors, such as the cost of the bigger collectors and storage system, the value of the off-peak power produced, and the availability of other sources of power during that time.
Some references:
http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/NSTTF/salt.htm
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/Concentrated-Solar-Thermal-Power.pdf
http://solar1.mech.unsw.edu.au/glm/clfr/stanwell_clfr.pdf
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/news/article/mps/uan/642/v/3/sp/
Posted by: Jeff Becker | November 08, 2006 at 06:02 PM
Thanks, Jeff.
Posted by: david foster | November 08, 2006 at 07:26 PM
I would like to know if Solel is traded on the stock market and if so what is the symbol.
Posted by: t. wilkinson | September 12, 2007 at 02:03 AM
I would like to know if Solel is traded on the stock market and if so what is its symbolc
Posted by: c barnaby | November 07, 2007 at 12:03 PM
as far as i can tell, Solel is not publically traded. I cannot find any solar thermal power plant company that trades pubically. one way to play it is manufacturers of components, which i have found Schott who makes the mirrors but is not available to trade here. I think this blows away PV and wish i could find a way to invest in it. maybe keep a news alert on Asura, Brightsource, and Solel to see if they announce an IPO.
Posted by: gman | November 13, 2007 at 11:43 PM
as far as i can tell, Solel is not publically traded
Posted by: ManBearPig | November 24, 2007 at 12:23 PM
I also am looking for a publicly traded solar thermal stock. Does anyone know of any? If you do, please email me and I will reciprocate by sending you any new information that I discover. Thanks.
Posted by: Don DeGrazia | January 06, 2008 at 07:00 PM
Does anyone have info on the manufacture of solar UVAC tubes? Cost. sophistication etc..
Posted by: Shashidhar | July 09, 2008 at 08:02 AM