RayGen reveals 'pioneering' concentrated solar photovoltaic power tower

Australia-based technology provider RayGen Resources inaugurated a concentrated solar photovoltaic (CSPV) power tower pilot in Newbridge, Victoria, on 27 March 2015.

The opening ceremony was attended by senior members of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA); RayGen’s Chinese partner, Juye Solar and Chinese Government officials, including representatives from China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The CSPV power tower “uses an array of sun-tracking heliostat mirrors to focus sunlight onto a central receiver,” said Ivor Frischknecht, CEO of ARENA in a written statement. His organisation provided AUS $1.7 million (US $1.3 million calculated at 30/3/2015) in funding for the AUS $3.6 million project (US $2.7 million). The local Government contributed with AUS $1 million grant for the initial field testing.

“The receiver converts a high proportion of sunlight to power while a cooling system keeps it from overheating,” said Frischknecht, adding that the technology “requires a smaller amount of space per kilowatt of capacity compared to existing concentrating solar thermal technologies.”

The power station is operational and will supply 200 kW to Scato Plus, a local agricultural company. “The pilot plant is providing data on performance, reliability, operations and maintenance that can be used for the development of a commercial scale CSPV system”, Frischknecht stated.

During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between RayGen Resources and Juye Solar for an investment of AUS $6 million, to further RayGen’s manufacturing capacity. The Chinese company will invest an additional AUS $15 million for the development of RayGen’s offering in China.

Aries awarded contract to supply engineering services for CSP plant in China

Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas signed an Owner’s Engineer (OE) contract with CGN Delingha Solar Energy Corporation for the development of the Qinghai Delingha CSP project. It is a 50 MW parabolic trough plant equipped with a molten salt-based thermal energy storage system, which will provide seven hours of storage.

The project will include a solar field of about 190 loops and it is expected to be in operation in the next two years, according to Aries’ press release. The plant is located in Delingha, in the Qinghai Province, and it will involve Spanish Ingeteam, which will provide “basic engineering services,” alongside Aries.

Aries has participated in two CSP projects in Morocco and South Africa. The first is Noor I, a 160 MW parabolic trough in Ouarzazate, which is expected to begin commercial operation later this year. The second is Bokpoort, a 50 MW parabolic trough project located in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa.

Abengoa reaches agreement with EIG for investment in APW-1

Abengoa and the investment fund EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG) have signed an agreement to finance the construction of renewable and conventional power generation projects in Mexico, Brazil and Chile.

As part of the transaction, a newly created company, Abengoa Projects Warehouse 1 (APW-1), will acquire a number of Abengoa’s projects in construction. The first of them will be Atacama I & II (CSP and PV) in Chile, the A3T and A4T in México and a participation in a Brazilian power transmission lines project, as stated in a press release issued by the Spanish company.

EIG will have a 55% controlling stake (US $1.1 billion) in APW-1, whereas Abengoa will possess the remaining 45%. The Spanish company expects to receive an initial payment of approximately $500 million for investments already made in these projects.

Both companies will be negotiating additional funding of up to US$500 million, “to facilitate APW-1’s acquisition of additional projects,” as said in the written statement.

Abengoa’s Atacama CSP project wins the “Climate and Environment” award granted by the IDB

Three projects in Brazil, Chile and Mexico have won the Infrastructure 360º Awards, staged as part of the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank’s board of governors.

The Aquapolo industrial water production project in Brazil was named the winner of the overall Infrastructure 360º category, for its “comprehensive implementation of a sustainability strategy,” indicated the IDB in a written statement.

The Cerro Dominador CSP plant in Chile (Atacama I and II) won the Climate and Environment category, whereas the EURUS wind farm project in Mexico was selected as the winner of the People and Leadership category.

The Infrastructure 360° Awards, developed jointly with the Harvard Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure, “seek to identify, assess, and reward sustainable infrastructure investments made by the private sector and public-private partnerships in the IDB´s 26 borrowing member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said the IDB.

To participate, companies should submit proposals for projects under construction or in operation within the past three years, and have a total investment of $30 million or more. The awards were launched in Panama in March 2013 and its inaugural ceremony was held in March 2014, in Brazil.

In 2015, over 40 projects applied from ten countries in the telecommunications, energy, transport, water treatment, solid waste and sanitation sectors.

The IDB announced the 12 finalists for the awards in September 2014. Each finalist submitted additional documents and materials that were reviewed by the Harvard Zofnass team, which then prepared a detailed assessment of each project for review by the nine-member panel of international experts that chose the winners.