Solel Solar Systems, Ltd. has announced that it has received a €1.8 million grant from the Andalusian Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise to help construct and develop a facility to build solar fields components. The facility in La Carolina (Andalusia) will be Solel's first plant in Spain and will include lines for the production of parabolic reflectors, metal supports for solar collectors, and other essential components used to generate solar thermal power.
"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, 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".
Construction of the La Carolina plant (which will cost a total of €8.2 million) is expected to be completed in 2012; however, part of the manufacturing lines will already be operational this year. Solel expects to employ 70 workers in the new facility in coming years, while the total workforce at the plant will reach 300 workers by 2012. Solel plans to invest a further €87.8 million) in building further manufacturing plants in Spain in the future.
Solel commenced operations in Spain in 2006 and supplies the technological heart to 15 concentrating solar power plants, with a combined capacity of 750 MW, built or under construction by Spain's leading infrastructure companies. 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.
Solel, which manufactures one of the world's best selling solar receivers, the UVAC 2008, is also developing the 553 MW Mojave Solar Park in California, while nine power plants in California have been operating successfully using Solel's technology for over twenty years.
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