eSolar, a leading producer of modular, scalable concentrating solar thermal power technology, and Ferrostaal AG, one of the world’s largest power plant developers, announced today a partnership to deploy turnkey solar power plants in countries including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa. Under the agreement, eSolar will provide solar field and receiver technology, while Ferrostaal will provide the power block as well as manage the overall realization as general contractor, including financing activities.
“This partnership with Ferrostaal is a real coup for eSolar,” said John Van Scoter, CEO of eSolar. “Ferrostaal’s extensive construction capacity and expertise – particularly in the concentrated solar thermal field – together with eSolar’s award-winning technology, offers us the opportunity to rapidly construct solar power projects across the globe in coming years.”
eSolar unveiled Sierra SunTower, a 5 MW commercial-scale solar power plant, in the summer of 2009. Located in Lancaster, California, Sierra SunTower is the only power tower facility currently operating in North America. eSolar has continued the momentum of its international development with three licensing partnerships across three continents.
In eSolar’s tower technology, mirrors reflect sunlight onto a receiver mounted atop of a tower. The focused heat boils water within the receiver and generates high-temperature steam which powers a turbine to produce electricity. Tower technology is particularly efficient as this point focusing can reach much higher temperatures than other existing CSP technologies.
“We are delighted to expand our solar energy portfolio with eSolar’s proven technology,” said Dr. Klaus Lesker, Board Member at Ferrostaal. “eSolar is an innovative company setting ambitious cost and quality benchmarks. Their approach is an ideal complement to the engineering and contracting skills of Ferrostaal. Working with eSolar, we will be able to expand our portfolio of projects around the globe in places where modularity and speed of deployment are at a premium.”
Through partnering with eSolar, Ferrostaal now adds solar power tower technology to its current concentrating solar thermal portfolio, which includes parabolic trough and Fresnel lens. By partnering with Ferrostaal, eSolar adds significant global reach through a partner with the experience and financial strength to execute projects rapidly.
