Ausra had been planning to raise billions of dollars to build utility-scale solar plants in the US and had set its sights on becoming the biggest independent power producer in the US. But those plans have had to be rethought, according to Bob Fishman, chief executive of Ausra.

"The independent power-producer model requires us to raise a tremendous amount of capital and to a certain extent it would lead to us competing with our customers," he told the Financial Times.

"Clearly, at the moment the project finance market would be very difficult to get into," he added.

Fishman also indicated that the company's business model could change to that of a technology supplier rather than a generator.

"Being a pure [technology] supplier to utilities is a better way to get their business than sometimes being a supplier and sometimes a competitor," he said.

Recently, Ausra had launched its Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant in Bakersfield, CA, which at full output, will be able to generate five megawatts of electricity, enough to power 3,500 homes in central California.  The plant is the first solar thermal power plant of any type built in California in nearly 20 years. The Kimberlina plant, built in seven months, is also the first solar plant in the country to utilise Ausra's next generation technology.