Solel in Contract with San Francisco, California's PG&E

Solel, a designer, manufacturer and installer of solar fields for large-scale power generation, has entered into a contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to construct a renewable energy project – The Mojave Solar Park in California's Mojave Desert.



On July 2007, Pacific Gas and Electric Company entered into a landmark renewable energy agreement with Solel-MSP-1 to purchase renewable energy from the Mojave Solar Park, to be constructed in California’s Mojave Desert. The project will deliver 553 megawatts of solar power, the equivalent of powering 400,000 homes, to PG&E’s customers in Northern and Central California. The Mojave Solar Park project is now the world’s largest single solar commitment. “The solar thermal project announced today is another major milestone in realizing our goal to supply 20 percent of our customers’ energy needs with clean renewable energy,” said Fong Wan, vice president of Energy Procurement, PG&E. “Through the agreement with Solel, we can harness the sun's climate-friendly power to provide our customers with reliable and cost-effective energy on an unprecedented scale.”

The plant utilizes Solel’s patented and commercially-proven solar thermal parabolic
trough technology. Over the past 20 years, the technology has powered nine operating solar power plants in the Mojave Desert and is currently generating 354 MW of annual electricity.
When fully operational in 2011, the Mojave Solar Park plant will cover up to 6,000 acres, or nine square miles in the Mojave Desert. Solel is working closely with URS Corporation in the development of the Mojave Solar Park, which when commercial will rely on 1.2 million mirrors and 317 miles of vacuum tubing to capture the desert sun’s heat.

“We are thrilled to bring 553 MW of clean energy to California,” said Avi Brenmiller, Chief Executive Officer of Solel Solar Systems. “Our proven solar technology means Solel can economically turn the energy of the warm California sun into clean power for the state’s homes and businesses.”

Solel Solar Systems of Israel, the world’s largest solar thermal company, is the parent company of Solel-MSP-1 LLC. Solel’s leading technology utilizes parabolic mirrors to concentrate solar energy onto its patented UVAC 2008 solar thermal receivers. The receivers contain a fluid that is heated and circulated, and the heat is released to generate steam. The steam powers a turbine to produce electricity, which can be delivered to a utility’s electric grid. The electricity generated by Mojave Solar Park will use some of the transmission infrastructure originally built for the now dormant coal-fired Mojave Generation Station to deliver the power to PG&E’s customers.

The agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission is part of PG&E’s broader renewable energy portfolio. PG&E currently supplies 12 percent of its energy from qualifying renewable sources under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program. With more than 50 percent of the energy PG&E delivers to its customers coming from generating sources that emit no carbon dioxide, PG&E provides among the cleanest energy in the nation.
PG&E is aggressively adding renewable electric power resources to its supply and is on target to exceed 20 percent under contract or delivered by 2010. With the Solel-MSP-1 announcement, and other renewable agreements, PG&E now has contracts to provide18 percent of its future energy supply from renewable sources. PG&E has also signed several other renewable energy agreements including an 85 MW wind project with PPM Energy, 7 MW of utility-scale solar projects with Cleantech America and GreenVolts, and a 25.5 MW contract with Western GeoPower, Inc. for a new geothermal energy facility in Sonoma County, California.

PG&E is seeking regulatory approval of these five renewable energy contracts.
California’s RPS Program requires each utility to increase its procurement of eligible renewable generating resources by one percent of load per year to achieve a twenty percent renewables goal by 2010. The RPS Program was passed by the Legislature and is managed by California’s Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission.

Solel Solar Systems also provides key technology components for new solar thermal plants currently under construction in the U.S. and in Spain. In addition, Solel and Sacyr-
Vallehermoso are jointly building solar power plants in Spain and Solel recently completed the upgrading of more than 100 MW of solar facilities in California. Solel‘s headquarters, manufacturing plant, research and development center are in Beit Shemesh, Israel with its U.S. development office in Los Angeles, California.

More about Solel
Israeli based Solel designs, manufactures and installs solar fields for large scale power generation. It has more than 20 years of proven experience, field tests, and solar thermal research, along with commercial implementations. Solel provides systems that improve the yearly electrical output of the solar fields and reduce their installation, operations and maintenance costs, resulting in significant improvements to the overall cost-effectiveness of the parabolic trough solar technology.

http://www.solel.com/

SDE Cooperates with the Chinese Government to Build Hydraulic Power Plant in China

SDE, sea wave power plants, will supply China's southern province, Guangzhou, with hydroelectric power. Depending on the project's success, the company will build 100 additional plants across China. The final deal is estimated in hundreds of millions of dollars.
China's choice of hydraulic hydro-electric power plants complies with its need to find alternative power sources facing the soaring oil prices (it is estimated that within the next two decades, a barrel of oil may cost between 175$ to 300$) and the many typhoons and earthquakes afflicting the country make it difficult to sustain wind or nuclear based power plants.



SDE's deal with China follows another $50 million deal the company signed with China-based Yudean in 2005. China's Nuclear Power Guangzhou is also said to be exploring a similar deal with SDE.
SDE has recently signed a $20 million deal with a San-Francisco power company and another with the Gambian government, as well as with the Federated States of Micronesia.

About SDE
SDE is a world leader in the planning, building and marketing of power stations, which produce power from sea waves. The company's methods consist of using sea wave motion to generate hydraulic pressure, which is then transformed into electricity. The system takes advantage of the wave's speed, height, depth, rise and fall, and the flow beneath the approaching wave, thus producing energy. SDE's system produces clean energy without detrimental effects on the environment.
SDE's aim is to help convert developing countries into 100% Integrated Clean Energy Industries, support Energy Conservation, Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs. In addition, SDE helps these developing countries fund the joint projects by addressing various financial agencies, including the World Bank and the United Nations. In recent years, various international organizations are providing more than 40% of funding to Renewable Energy producers.

http://www.sde.co.il/

Project Better Place

Renault-Nissan has joined forces with Project Better Place and will supply electric vehicles as part of the "Project Better Place" operations in Israel as early as this year. Mass production, according to Mr Shai Agassi, founder of Project Better Place, could begin by 2011.

Project Better Place cooperates with the Israeli and Danish governments to transform these countries' transportation infrastructure from oil-based to electricity based, composed of mostly renewable energy in order to significantly reduce harmful emissions. The renewable energy will be supplied through Israel’s growing renewable power sectors.

Renault's vehicles will run on electricity for all functions. The project's objective is to achieve zero emissions, while at the same time offer driving performance similar to a 1.6 liter gasoline engine. Renault's electric vehicles will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries, which will ensure greater driving range and longevity.

About Project Better Place



Project Better Place was founded in October 2007, and is run by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Shai Agassi. Better Place is an electric vehicles developer that collaborates with the Israeli government's first of its kind challenge, that by the year 2020, 10% of the country's energy sources will be alternative. As oil prices rise higher and with environmental pressures and increased regulation, the automotive industry is undergoing enormous disruption, but the opportunities far outweigh the challenges. In March of 2008, DONG (Danish Oil & Natural Gas) Energy signed an agreement with Better Place as well; Denmark will thus be one of the first countries to have electric vehicles.

Better Place works towards zero emissions, electric car infrastructure and battery technology. Its model is based on consumers subscribing to transportation as a service, similar to mobile phone subscribers today; automotive companies manufacture the electric cars that plug in to the Better Place electric recharge network of charging stations and battery swap stations; energy companies provide the network’s power through growing renewable energy projects; and Better Place provides the batteries that make owning an electric car affordable and convenient.

http://www.betterplace.com/

BrightSource Energy Develops Contacts in Phoenix, Arizona

BrightSource Energy, a designer and builder of large scale solar plants that deliver low-cost solar energy in the form of steam and/or electricity, has very recently made contact with potential partners in Phoenix, Arizona, to build a site that could host up to 400 megawatts from it's solar generating stations.



The city of Phoenix would like to use solar power in order to reduce its energy costs. Partnering with a solar provider would also bring in additional jobs and a more diverse economy to the region.
In April this year, BrightSource Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric signed a multi-year deal that is believed to be Brightsource's biggest ever, with potentially 900 megawatts supply. About a month later Google invested $10 million in the company; it had made a $10 million equity investment by buying a stake in BrightSource Energy’s $115 million venture round through its Google.org arm.
According to BrightSource, its solar power plants will provide enough electricity to power more than 3.2 million homes and counter the emissions equivalent produced by approximately one million cars.

About BrightSource
BrightSource Energy, Inc. builds solar plants at prices that are competitive with those of fossil fuels for industrial and utility customers worldwide, thus enabling industrial and utility companies to lessen their dependency on fossil fuels by providing a low cost, reliable source of clean energy during periods of peak usage. BrightSource Energy's headquarters are located in Oakland, California.
BrightSource Energy's goal is to develop and commercialize new solar thermal technology that can compete with fossil fuel plants. BrightSource Energy’s leading technology, DPT (Dynamic Power Towers), which uses mirrors to whip up steam to drive turbines to produce power, a method known as solar thermal, is the lowest costing and most reliable method to generate central solar power.

http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/