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February 23, 2009 – Vol.13 No.49 NRG Energy to Develop Up To 500 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power with eSolar Technology. NRG Energy has signed an agreement with eSola to develop solar power plants at sites in California and the Southwest. When at peak capacity, these units can power more than 400,000 homes with 100 percent clean solar electricity. The first plant is anticipated to begin producing electricity as early as 2011. eSolar, an Idealab company founded by CEO Bill Gross and CTO Asif Ansari in 2007, is a provider of modular, scalable solar thermal power technology. NRG will also invest approximately $10 million for equity and associated development rights for three projects on sites in south central California and the Southwest US and a portfolio of power purchase agreements with local utilities to develop, build, own and operate up to 11 eSolar modular solar generating units at these sites. “This is NRG’s first venture into solar power and it brings an exceptionally important component to the low- and no-carbon focus of our RepoweringNRG program,” said Michael Liebelson, Chief Development Officer Low Carbon Technology for NRG Energy. “By coupling NRG’s construction capabilities and regional operating expertise with eSolar’s innovative CSP technology, we can advance NRG’s renewable energy portfolio while helping to accelerate development of these important projects on a commercial scale.” eSolar is currently completing its first commercial demonstration CSP plant in Southern California. The facility will be the first fully functioning solar thermal power tower plant built in the United States. In building this first plant, eSolar is obtaining valuable design, construction and operational insights to provide NRG the foundation for the implementation of commercial scale facilities.
“eSolar’s breakthrough modular power plants use more software and less steel to allow solar energy to be competitive with fossil fuels for the first time ever,” said Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar. “NRG Energy’s extensive project skills and focus on advancing a diverse portfolio of energy generation technology will help accelerate the deployment of eSolar’s CSP technology in locations across the US.” NRG Energy owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. NRG’s 48 plants provide approximately 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity—enough to power nearly 20 million homes. (2/23/09)
Links: NRG Energy eSolar
Related: --- eSolar to Build 245 MW of Concentrating Solar Power. --- eSolar Raises $130 million to Accelerate Deployment of Prefabricated Solar Thermal Power Plants.
Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: Yes
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