HelioFocus' unique technology enables introduction of steam directly to the power plant turbine main steam line, compensating for efficiency loss in the combined cycle plant during peak hours and increasing the annual power plant production. The $3 million project will be constructed during 2012, providing steam to the power plant by the end of that year.
This initiative is the first project wherein the HelioBooster is integrated into an operative power plant, an important milestone in commercialization of the HelioBooster.
The product comprises a field of large parabolic dish concentrators (500 square metres per dish) harnessing temperatures of up to 1,000°C. Each dish channels solar radiation onto a proprietary volumetric receiver which generates high temperature air. The air is then transferred to a central heat exchanger that generates steam for delivery to the power plant’s conventional turbine.
Yakov Hain , VP of Engineering Projects and Business development at IEC said during the signing ceremony that: “The cooperation between the companies is aimed to support the global world emission standards, and to step forward by combining the knowledge and experience IEC gained during the years and HelioFocus' innovative and advanced technology. This enterprise will be part of the mission to produce at least 20% of clean energy up to 2020. We believe that this project will place Israel in the same line with the developed countries that invest in solar thermal energy”.
According to Oren Gadot, HelioFocus CEO: “HelioFocus is moving forward from the research and development stage into production and project application. We are focused on demonstrating the technological advantage of the HelioBooster.
Simultaneously we are continuing our international activities focusing on the Chinese market, wherein HelioFocus has a significant advantage over any other solar thermal company. The current project, which is an important milestone and a part of a larger 10 MW project, manifests the fruitful cooperation between IEC and HelioFocus. The project is the company's model for other future projects with worldwide clients.”
Founded in 2007, HelioFocus’ investors are Israel Corporation Green Ltd. (ICG), a subsidiary of Israel Corporation Ltd., Israel’s largest public holding company, and Sanhua Holding group, China, the largest supplier of refrigeration and air conditioning components. Sanhua made its first investment in HelioFocus in the beginning of 2009 and since then supports Heliofocus’s projects and business activities especially in China.
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