The project is the first solar thermal electric technology venture for the company.
Acciona Energía will directly take on 95% of the investment and has also acquired 55% of the capital of Solargenix Energy, a leading US solar company that will take on the remaining 5% through Solargenix.
The plant, which covers 1.4 million m2, is located in the Nevada desert on a site in Eldorado Valley, near Boulder City. The 760 parabolic cylinder concentrators concentrate the sun’s rays onto pipes, warming a fluid up to 400º C flows. This fluid is used to produce steam and drives a conventional turbine-gen set.
The grid connected plant energy is expected to generate 129GWh/year
that will be purchased by utilities Nevada Power and Serra Pacific under a 20-year agreement. Nevada plans major development of solar energy within the objective of 20% of its electricity consumption coming from renewable energies by 2013.
