Torresol Energy recently announced a 171 million euro financing deal which will allow construction to commence on Gemasolar.

According to Torresol Energy, a company set up with 60 percent SENER stockholding and 40 percent Abu Dhabi's Masdar stockholding, it now has the entire €240 million it needs to build the 17-megawatt solar thermal power plant.

Gemasolar is the world's first utility grade solar power plant with central tower and salt receiver technology.

The plant incorporates significant technological innovations, among which is the solar collection system, but there is also a molten-salt heat storage system that is capable of attaining temperatures exceeding 500ºC.

It will provide clean and safe energy to more than 30,000 homes and create more than 1,500 jobs in Spain.

Gemasolar plant construction works has already started, in order to have the plant operating by 2011, Juan Ignacio Burgaleta, director of technology, Torresol Energy told CSPToday.com in an interview recently.

"It has already completed the first phase of the project, the so-called Preliminary Notice to Proceed (Pre-NTP), and also the engineering has been launched, some critical equipment is already purchased and site work has begun. Right now it is about to start the construction work in EPC contract, in consortium with AMSA, an ACS Cobra subsidiary," said Burgaleta.

The EPC contract has been awarded to a consortium, including SENER and AMSA, a ACS Cobra subsidiary. In the consortium, SENER will be in charge of providing the technology, the detail design and commissioning of the plant.

Burgaleta also spoke about the propsects of feed-in tariff in Spain and the focus of the company this year. Excerpts:

CSPToday.com: Regarding CSP technologies resulting in a significant cost reduction in the long-term, it is said that more than 4 GWe is required to achieve the projected cost of of 10¢/kWh. Do you think the industry needs to be wary of cost increment in the short term due to the unbalance between offer and demand of components for CSP in order to achieve projected lower cost resulting from CSP technology? Or do you think the commercial deployment of these technologies must be accompanied by the development of the industrial basis to support such a growth? If the demand for components increases suddenly, the unbalanced offer will lead to a significant cost increase. 

Juan Ignacio Burgaleta: Torresol Energy is working to reduce the costs of CSP plants with two strategies: first of all, searching and developing technological innovations that can reduce the costs of the construction, operation and maintenance of the plants and, at the same time, can improve its performances; and also with the scale factor: the largest number of CSP plants built, the lower inversion needed.

CSPToday.com: Following Solucar PS10 in Sevilla and Andasol 1 in Granada, Puertollano in Ciudad Real, is expected to be connected early 2009. Other 12 plants are in construction only in Spain. By 2010 the Solar Thermal Electricity capacity installed in Spain is likely to be of 400-500 MW.  How do you think CSP technology is expected to progress in Spain in the next couple of years? Do you think that feed-in tariff in Spain will be reduced in 2011 and the construction of CSP plants will not grow afterwards in the same way it is now? 

Juan Ignacio Burgaleta: Spain is living without a doubt a great development in CSP technologies, and we expect this to continue over the next years: first of all, because in the next few years we will be able to see in first hand the improvements in the output of CSP plants, reached by the new technology that we are developing and installing in the current projects.

Besides, the Spanish government has (agreed for) a strong compromise in the development of renewable energies and, with the international situation of the power market, it will probably remain the same in next years.

CSPToday.com: ESTELA has acknowledged that both the RES Directive and the Mediterranean Solar Plan launched in the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean will open the way to develop solar thermal electricity in the North African countries and benefit both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.  How do you see the situation going forward?  

Juan Ignacio Burgaleta: Northern Africa is part of the so called sun-belt regions, where SENER, with Masdar, through its joint venture Torresol Energy, aims to promote the development and exploitation of large concentration solar plants due to their excellent meteorological conditions.

In the MENA area (Middle East and Northern Africa) Torresol Energy is working in the project of a power plant in Abu Dhabi and hopes to design and build another three CSP power plants before 2012. The Mediterranean countries (South of Europe) are also part of Torresol Energy's strategic areas for developing CSP plants.

Torresol Energy was born with the objective of becoming the world leader in the CSP sector. The company's main action areas for the design, construction and commissioning of CSP plants will be in Southern Europe, including Spain, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and the south east of the USA, where Torresol Energy will promote plants with central receiver tower system based on the experience from the projects in Spain and Abu Dhabi. Torresol Energy's specific objectives in Southern Europe are centred on promoting the construction of a new CSP plant in Spain, at the same time as promoting projects in Portugal, Italy and Greece. Finally, it is planning to establish a collaboration agreement in the United States with a renewable energy company to start the design of at least one CPS plant in the south east of the country.

 CSPToday.com: What is going to be the focus of the company in 2009?  

Juan Ignacio Burgaleta: In 2009 SENER will be focused on the engineering works for several projects that are already under construction in Spain.

Also, the engineering company will continue with the research and development of new technologies, in order to maintain its leadership in the solar field.

Besides, Torresol Energy will be focused on the development of Gemasolar, already in construction, and two other CSP plants in Spain, both with parabolic trough collector technology and storage system. The company will continue the promotion of CSP plants all over the world.