In Europe, the market for renewable energy is large and growing at an amazing rate. Contributing to this growth along are two companies, E.ON and Abengoa Solar, and their forward thinking solar energy ideas.

In the south of Spain, in Seville, two new solar power plants are underway to help ease the environmental impact of producing electricity. The partnership between E.ON and Abengoa energy will require a total invest 550 million euros into the two solar plants, which are due to be finished in 2011 and 2012 respectively. These two plants will help to supply electricity to 52,000 homes, and will cut upwards of 63,000 tons of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere. The technology utilized by these two solar plants comes in the form of parabolic troughs.

The technology behind these new plants is rather simple. The parabolic trough is a large, curved mirror that sits on the motorized based and follows the movement of the sun throughout the day. The shape of the mirror allows it to gather a large amount of the suns rays, and reflect them to a single point. A receiver tube sits at this point, collecting the solar power through synthetic heat transfer oil. The oil reaches a temperature of 700 degrees (400 C), and is them pumped to a nearby power block. There it is converted to high-pressure steam which pushes a conventional steam turbine engine, thus creating electricity.

The 50:50 partnership is aimed to invest a around of 550 million Euros into the two plants which will start operation in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The solar facilities will produce enough power to supply 52,000 homes and avoid the emission equivalent to 63,000 tonnes of CO2

The participation of E.ON in the projects is however still subject to the EU–Commission approval under merger control.

Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, explained: “Having E.ON on as a partner in these projects will allow us to continue growing at the speed we want and to improve our capabilities in areas where E.ON has extensive experience”.

Frank Mastiaux, CEO of E.ON Climate & Renewables said: “Solar Power will be the next strong pillar in E.ON’s renewables portfolio. Our entry into CSP complements our recent moves into the photovoltaic business and we will now stand on two feet in solar in the future. I am also delighted to be working with Abengoa. We have found an experienced partner with whom we want to drive CSP to new levels of performance”.

The President of E.ON España, Miguel Antoñanzas, pointed out: “With this partnership for high quality projects E.ON continues its commitment to enhance its portfolio of 3.700MW of generation capacity in the Iberian Peninsula, of which over 1.100MW are already from renewables sources”.

The plants in Ecija will utilize Parabolic Trough* technology, a solution developed in the 1980s that Abengoa Solar has in recent years tested and enhanced at the Solúcar Platform plants in Sanlúcar la Mayor, Seville.

E.ON is investing 8 billions of Euros in renewable generation and climate protection projects between 2007-2011, and will play a leading role in the development of the renewables industry worldwide. E.ON currently has over 2.8GW of renewable capacity in operation which makes the company a leading global renewable energy player.

Both companies are founding members of the Desertec Industrial Initiative to develop secure renewable energy production in the desert regions of the Middle East and Northern Africa

*A Parabolic Trough is a large, curved mirror that sits on a motorized base, allowing it to follow the movement of the sun throughout the day. The mirror’s unique parabolic shape is designed to gather a great deal of sunlight and then reflect that light onto a single point, concentrating the solar power. A receiver tube sits at the point where the mirror concentrates all the sunlight. The tube is filled with a synthetic heat transfer oil, heated by the mirror’s light to around 750 F (400 C). This superheated oil is then pumped from the solar field to a nearby power block, where the oil’s heat is converted to high-pressure steam in a series of heat exchangers. This steam pushes a conventional steam turbine, creating electricity. For more information, please see: www.abengoasolar.com.

Abengoa is a technology company that applies innovative solutions for sustainability in the infrastructure, environmental and energy sectors. It is listed on the Spanish stock exchange and has an active presence in over seventy countries, in which it operates through its five Business Units: Solar, Bioenergy, Environmental Services, Information Technologies and Industrial Construction and Engineering.

Abengoa Solar focuses its activity on the development and application of technology for generating electrical power with the sun. Abengoa Solar is building 350MW in solar plants with an additional 31 MW already operating with the first two commercial solar towers worldwide.”

Source: Press Release

According to the Press Release, ” Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced that it has contracted with subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources and Abengoa Solar for delivery of a total of 500 megawatts (MW) of clean solar power. The agreements are among several solar deals recently signed by the utility with independent developers for a total of 830 MW.

NextEra’s proposed Genesis Solar Energy Project consists of two 125 MW units to be located on a site managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Riverside County, Calif. The project is scheduled to come online in two phases, the first 125 MW in 2013 and the second 125 MW in 2014. It is expected to deliver about 560 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy per year, as much as the annual consumption of more than 80,000 average homes.

Abengoa Solar’s proposed 250 MW Mojave Solar project is to be located at Harper Lake in San Bernardino County, Calif. The project will deliver more than 600 GWh of energy per year, enough to serve the needs of about 90,000 average homes. The project is scheduled to become fully operational by late 2013.

Both projects will use proven solar thermal technology to generate renewable energy for PG&E’s electric customers. Curved mirrors in the shape of troughs will focus solar energy onto fluid-filled tubes extending the length of each trough. The heated fluid will then be used to create steam for generating electricity.”

Source: Press Release