A Pair of 50 Megawatt Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plants in Your Backyard?
Abengoa Solar partners with JGC Corporation to jointly own two 50 megawatt Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants in Spain. The two solar plants represent a total investment of more than 500 million euros.
Abengoa Solar and JGC Corporation (“JGC”) have formed a partnership to own two 50 megawatt Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants in El Carpio (Córdoba), Spain. Abengoa Solar, who will also operate both facilities, will retain control of the project with a 74% stake. The power plants will be the first commercial CSP plants invested in by any Japanese company.
The two 50 megawatt CSP plants represent a total investment of more than 500 million euros, of which a total of around 350 million euros has been raised through a project finance loan. In August 2010, Abengoa and JGC concluded the finance agreements with four international commercial banks: SMBC, HSBC, Mizuho and BNP Paribas.
The two 50 megawatt CSP plants, which are already under construction by the Abengoa companies Abener and Teyma, are expected to start their commercial operation in early 2012 and will sell power to the grid based on the Spanish feed-in tariff system. The plants will benefit greatly from abundant solar radiation in El Carpio (Cordoba), as an ideal site in Europe. Utilizing parabolic trough technology1, they will produce enough energy to meet the electricity needs of 52,000 households and achieve emissions reductions totaling approximately 63,000 tons of CO2 per year.
Santiago Seage, Abengoa Solar’s CEO, said “this partnership, with the participation of a leading Japanese engineering company and Japanese and other international banks, demonstrates the interest of the international investment community in CSP projects in Spain”.
In turn, Koichi Kawana, JGC’s Executive Vice President, mentioned that “it is our great pleasure to collaborate with Abengoa Solar as a very reliable partner with a proven and impressive track record in the CSP industry. We believe that CSP is one of key technologies to mitigate global warming and we are proud to take part in this environmentally friendly power generation project. JGC’s challenge to develop CSP projects will expand globally utilizing our experience, especially in MENA countries”.
Technology Note:
1. Parabolic trough technology operation is based on solar tracking and concentration of sunrays onto receiving pipes with a high degree of thermal efficiency that are placed along the cylinder focal line. Inside these pipes a heat-transmitting fluid is heated to approximately 400ºC (750ºF) by means of the concentrated sunrays.
This fluid is pumped through a series of heat exchangers to produce superheated steam. The heat present in this steam is turned into electrical energy inside a conventional steam turbine. Further information is available at: www.abengoasolar.com.
About Abengoa
Abengoa Solar focuses its activity on the development and application of technology for generating electrical power with the sun. Abengoa Solar has 450 megawatts in solar projects under construction, in addition to 193 megawatts in commercial operation. (www.abengoasolar.com)
Abengoa is a technology company that applies innovative solutions for sustainability in the infrastructure, environmental, and energy sectors. Abengoa Solar is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange and is present in more than seventy countries, where the company operates through its five Business Units: Solar, Bioenergy, Environmental Services, Information Technologies, and Industrial Engineering and Construction. (www.abengoa.com)
About JGC
Established in 1928, JGC Corporation (JGC) is one of Japan’s leading engineering companies. It has executed approximately 20,000 projects in more than 70 countries, and has a strong background in lump-sum turnkey operations of both hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon related projects. While expanding its core businesses in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), JGC has continuously developed its investment business, and has been active in the field of energy-related infrastructure including power, desalination and bio-ethanol, in addition to renewable energies, among others. The company draws on a wide range of technologies and know-how, along with its extensive experience accumulated through its EPC businesses (www.jgc.co.jp)
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