eSolar Raises $130 million to Accelerate Deployment of Prefabricated Solar Thermal Power Plants

April 21, 2008 – Vol.13 No.5

eSolar Raises $130 million to Accelerate Deployment of Prefabricated Solar Thermal Power Plants.

Funding from Idealab, Google.org, Oak Investment Partners, and others, is to be used towards the construction and deployment of distributed solar plants that could offer solar electricity for less than the price of coal, without subsidies.

eSolar’s distributed solar thermal plants achieve economies of scale at 33 MW, and are modularly scaled to fit the needs of large and small utilities. Each power plant will be based on mass manufactured components, and is designed for rapid construction, uniform modularity, and unlimited scalability. Key to the fast construction of the eSolar(tm) power plant is computer algorithms used to place each solar heliostat for optimum solar concentration.

The company’s solar power plant solutions are tailored to fit local resources and produce a low environmental footprint, favoring a straightforward siting and permitting process.

eSolar has secured land rights in the southwest United States to support the production and transmission of over 1 GW of power. The company plans to have a fully operational power plant later this year in southern California.

eSolar is an Idealab company founded by CEO Asif Ansari in 2007 to develop, construct and deploy modular, scalable solar thermal power plants. Idealab's mission is to create and operate pioneering technology companies.

Google invested in eSolar to create utility-scale electricity from clean renewable energy sources that is cheaper than electricity produced from coal.

Oak Investment Partners is a multistage venture capital firm with a total of $8.4 billion in committed capital. (4/21/08)

Links:

eSolar
http://www.esolar.com

Idealab
http://www.idealab.com

Commentary: Google’s Entry Into Renewable Energy.

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No