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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

EIB provides EUR 80 million for GEMASOLAR’s innovative solar power project

EIB Vice-President Carlos da Silva Costa and the Chairman of Torresol Energy, Enrique Sendagorta, signed yesterday the finance contract in Madrid for EUR 80 million loan to GEMASOLAR 2006 SAU which will finance the construction and commissioning of a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Fuentes de Andalucía (province of Seville). With a nameplate power of 17 MW, the new plant is a global pioneer in the commercial application of CSP technology and the only existing commercial-scale solar power demonstration project based on a central tower receiver and heliostat field and an innovative molten salt heat storage system. This storage system will allow independent power generation for up to 15 hours with no solar input while increasing energy efficiency by enabling electricity production for some 6 600 hours a year – around 2.5-3 times as much as other renewable energies.

Gemasolar is the flagship project of Torresol Energy Investment SA, owned 60% by the Spanish engineering group SENER and 40% by Masdar, the government of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energies development company. The Gemasolar plant will supply clean and secure energy to 25 000 households, reduce CO 2 emissions by more than 30 000 tonnes a year and create around 1 000 direct jobs during the construction phase.

About Torresol Energy

A joint venture between the companies SENER and MASDAR, Torresol Energy was set up with the aim of becoming a global leader in the Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) sector, promoting the development and operation of large-scale CSP plants throughout the world – especially in the “sun belt”: southern Europe, including Spain, North Africa, the Middle East and the south-west United States.

Torresol Energy is currently focusing its efforts on the GEMASOLAR project and the construction of two 50 MW parabolic trough plants in the province of Cadiz (VALLE 1 and VALLE 2).

In the medium term, Torresol Energy plans to build at least two CSP plants each year, introducing and testing new technologies in order to turn CSP into an economically competitive and viable alternative to traditional power sources. The main aim of Torresol Energy’s research activities is to drive down the costs of power generation.

Source  European Commission - Press Room

More information  European Commission - Press Room

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