ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, January 18th 2012 [ME NewsWire]
Torresol Energy, a joint venture between Masdar – Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company and SENER – the Spanish engineering and construction firm, announced today at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants - two identical 50 MW parabolic trough plants, located in Cádiz, in the South of Spain, had commenced commissioning in January 2012. The plants are equipped with thermal storage which will allow them to continue to produce power, even when there is no solar radiation, for up to 7.5 hours.
In October 2011, under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Spain Juan Carlos I and His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, Torresol Energy officially inaugurated Gemasolar in Fuentes Andalucia, Spain.
The Gemasolar facility represented a significant breakthrough in the global solar industry and an important new field of cooperation between Spain and the UAE.
The announcement was made during a press conference held by the President of Torresol Energy, Enrique Sendagorta; the COO of Masdar,Trevor Nash; the General Manager of Torresol Energy, Alvaro Lorente; the Director of Masdar Power, Frank Wouters; and the President and CEO of SENER, Jorge Sendagorta.
Construction on Valle 1 and Valle 2 began in December 2009, and was completed in December 2011. In January 2012 the plants were connected to Spanish national grid for commercial operations. Roughly 4,500 workers worked over 2,700,000 hours to build and launch the twin projects during the two construction years.
SENER led the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the two projects, as project manager, and has provided 100% of the technology and engineering for both plants. From the outset, the two plants were built sequentially, including processing various types of supplies, overseeing multiple contractors, providing quality control of the execution and, above all, planning and supervising construction as it progresses.
Each of the plants will produce 160 GWh of power per year, equivalent to the amount of power consumed by 40,000 households. Together, the two plants will cut CO2 emissions by approximately 90,000 tons/year. The thermal storage of the plants allows them to continue producing energy for 7.5 hours at full power capacity without sunlight. Solar power thus becomes a source of manageable energy capable of supplying to the grid based on power demand, regardless of whether it is day or night or if the weather is cloudy.
During the press conference, Enrique Sendagorta, President of Torresol Energy, said: “With these twin plants in Spain, Torresol Energy completes the first stage of our Strategic Plan. We now have three plants up and running, Valle 1 & Valle 2 and Gemasolar, in the South of Spain, and a proven track record that we can operate and carry out the maintenance of CSP plants both in power tower technology and parabolic trough technology. We expect to start soon on other CSP projects in different countries located in what is referred to as the sun-belt region.”
Speaking on the project, Masdar’s CEO Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: “With the UAE’s visionary leadership and support, in just five years Masdar has become a prominent player in the renewable energy with several projects under its belt locally in the UAE and globally. Valle 1 & 2 are two additional milestones in Masdar’s portfolio of Concentrated Solar Power plants as a result of the joint venture with SENER. We are proud of this partnership with SENER and will continue making investments in utility scale projects in renewable energy, especially in solar and wind energy as they are the most relevant to the UAE.”
The General Manager of Torresol Energy, Alvaro Lorente, declared: “It is worth mentioning that, due to the financial strength of Torresol Energy’s partners, SENER and Masdar, the Valle 1 and Valle 2 projects were financed through seven Spanish commercial banks in 2009 for a total financing of EUR 540 million, despite the global financial crisis. This operation was awarded the Project Finance Deal of the Year 2009 in the Clean Energy Sector by EuroMoney.”
“Now that the two plants have started commissioning, we have a complete team of Operations & Maintenance (O&M) personnel that has been trained during 2011 to be able to operate and carry out the maintenance of these plants from day one,”added Lorente.
Frank Wouters, Director of Masdar Power, said: “Getting Valle 1 & 2 into commercial operations has been a significant achievement for us. Getting Gemasolar, Valle 1 & 2 and (later this year) Shams One into operation means we already have over 200MW of CSP plants in operation globally. In addition, Masdar and Torresol Energy are exploring further business development opportunities to grow our CSP presence worldwide, including the MENA region where we also see a terrific opportunity in the solar space.”
Lastly, Jorge Sendagorta, President and CEO of SENER, added: “SENER is leading the solar thermal power sector worldwide, with 24 plants in Spain, US and India that represent 1,500 MWe installed or under construction and 1,000,000 CO2 tons saved per year. We develop new innovations in every new project with the aim of improving our technology in order to reduce the investments cost of these plants. Besides, SENER has been in charge of the sequential construction of Valle 1 and Valle 2, a challenge for our project management team, and this has allowed us to improve the schedule and budget of the works.”
Along with the Gemasolar plant, the two Valle plants will help Spain contribute to Europe’s 2020 climate and energy targets which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, increase the use of renewables as a primary source of energy by 20% and reduce primary energy consumption by 20% through improved efficiency.
Torresol Energy is a company that promotes the technological development, construction, operation and maintenance of large concentrated solar power plants throughout the world. With the commissioning of Valle 1 and 2, the company has already developed three projects, including the innovative Gemasolar plant that started commercial operations in May 2011.
Torresol Energy’s projects have already won a number of awards including, Euromoney 2009 Project Finance Deal of the Year for Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants, the US CSP Today 2011 award ‘Commercialized Technology Innovation of the Year’ for Gemasolar, and the European CSP Today 2011 awards ‘Commercialized Technology Innovation 2011’ and ‘Most Effective Project Development 2011’ for Gemasolar.
In turn, SENER has also been awarded thanks to its solar solutions. At the end of 2011, SENER was awarded, mainly due to Gemasolar, the top European Business Award for Innovation. It won against nine other finalists in an extensive selection process that began in May 2011 and saw over 15,000 European companies competing for the honor. SENER was also awarded "Engineering Firm 2011" and "Increased Dispatchability Solution 2011” at the CSP Today awards, in recognition of its achievements in the CSP sector, specially the Gemasolar project development.
About Torresol Energy
Torresol Energy, an alliance between the companies SENER and MASDAR, was created with the purpose of becoming a leader in the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector, with the goal of promoting technological development and operating large concentrated solar power plants around the world, especially in the so-called “solar belt”: Southern Europe, including Spain, Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Southwestern USA.
Every new Torresol Energy project will introduce and test new technologies with SENER’s support in order to make Concentrated Solar Power an economically competitive option and thus make it a real, viable, ecological and sustainable alternative to traditional energy. In this regard, the protection of the environment for future generations is one of Torresol Energy's core commitments.
The company currently has three solar plant in operation in Spain: the 19.9 MW Gemasolar plant with central tower and heliostat field technology located in Fuentes de Andalucía, Seville, and Valle 1 and Valle 2, twin 50 MW installations with parabolic trough technology located in San José del Valle, Cádiz.
About SENER
SENER is a private engineering and technology group founded in 1956 in Bilbao, which seeks to offer its clients the most advanced technological solutions and which enjoys international recognition, thanks to its independence and its commitment to innovation and quality. SENER has a workforce of more than 5,000 professionals and a turnover of 1,066 million Euros (2010 figures).
SENER engages in the specific activities of Engineering and Construction, and also has industrial holdings in companies involved in Energy and Environment, as well as in Aeronautics. The Engineering and Construction Division, SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas, S.A. has become one of the leading Spanish engineering firms, with a turnover of more than 624 million Euros (2010 figures), around 2,000 employees and offices in Abu Dhabi, Algiers, Barcelona, Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Busan, Lisbon, Madrid, Mexico City, Okayama, San Francisco, Seville, Valencia and Warsaw.
SENER has become a technology leader worldwide in the concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, both in terms of technology and number of plants in progress. To date, SENER has participated in twenty four solar thermal projects in Spain, most of them already in operation, US and India, representing 1,500 MWe installed and under construction and 1,000,000 CO2 tons saved per year.
About Masdar
Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today’s fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future - developing the “greenprint” for how we will live and work tomorrow. Backed by the stability and reputation of the Mubadala Development Company, the strategic investment company of the government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the emirate’s long-term vision for the future of energy.
For more information about the Masdar Initiative, please visit: www.masdar.ae
Stay connected:facebook.com/masdar.ae
About Masdar Power:
Masdar Power is one of the five integrated units of Abu Dhabi’s clean energy initiative - Masdar. Mandated to build and operate a portfolio of large-scale renewable energy power projects, it is implementing major projects such as the Shams One solar power plant in the UAE, as well as international projects including the London Array offshore wind farm, Torresol Energy’s Gemasolar, Valle 1& 2 solar power plants in Spain.
Through its partnerships and investments in technology-relevant to utility-scale renewable energy operating assets, Masdar Power aims to spearhead breakthroughs in the field of solar PV, concentrated solar power, onshore and offshore wind.
Links:
www.torresolenergy.com; www.sener.es ; www.masdar.ae
Contacts
SENER & TORRESOL ENERGY: Oihana Casas.
Communication
Tel.: +34 918077318
Email:oihana.casas@sener.es
SENER & TORRESOL ENERGY: Pilar Garcia
Communication
Tel.: +34 609450209
Email:pilar.garcia@sener.es
MASDAR:Serene Serhan
Corporate Communications
Telephone:+971 2 653 3333 / 800 – MASDAR (800-627327)
Email:press@masdar.ae
The first thing I notice is that I have to spend a lot of money to buy the equipment to give me the capability. This equipment is going to be produced the same carbon requiring way that everything else is so my first impact is to increase my carbon footprint, relative to the issue of providing electricity to my home.
ReplyDeleteCrishmartin