Cleantech Investor

Published in: 2011 - A Review of Cleantech Equity Deals, January 2012

The impact of plummeting silicon PV prices hit hard in the concentrated solar thermal space, where casualties included Millennium Solar and Stirling Energy Systems in the US, both of which entered into bankruptcy. The Power Purchase Agreement with PG&E for energy from the giant 280MW Abengoa Mojave Solar project, which is being supported by US$1.2 billion in loan guarantees from the US DoE, received approval to go ahead in November 2011, despite questions about the high costs being paid for the electricity. Mojave will use parabolic trough technology. Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi, the 100MW Masdar Shams 1 parabolic trough solar thermal plant, being developed by Abengoa and Total, is reported to be gearing up for operation in 2012. However, a number of earlier stage projects are switching from the use of solar thermal technology to concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology. These include the Solar Trust of America Blythe project and the Calico and Imperial Valley projects, which were originally developed by Tessera Solar (a company owned by Ireland’s NTR, which held a majority stake in Stirling Energy Systems) and had planned to use Stirling technology.

The end of 2011 saw a flurry of activity in CPV. France’s Soitec, which acquired Concentrix back in 2009 and is developing a 150MW CPV project in Southern California in partnership with Tenasaka, announced that it is investing over US$150 million in a Californian CPV plant in a factory acquired from Sony. The plant will produce silicon-on-glass Fresnel lens plates, developed through a joint venture with Reflexite, which are used in the Soitec CPV modules.

Unsurprisingly, something of a schism has emerged in the concentrated solar space at the VC stage, with solar thermal technologies having fallen out of favour, although investors’ attention is still focusing on CPV – as many of the deals included here demonstrate. However, a focus on innovation in advanced solar thermal technology remains in place at governmental level, with the US DoE allocating US$60 million for research as part of its SunShot Initiative. The DoE-funded research will focus on efficiency improvements and cost reductions in collectors, receivers and power cycle equipment used in CHP.

The concentrated solar industry has been consolidating and attracting attention from large industrial players for several years, with companies such as Siemens and Alstom having made acquisitions in the space. During 2011 ABB entered the game with investments in Novatec Solar and GreenVolts. GE invested in a solar thermal technology company, eSolar – and is combining the eSolar technology into an ‘Integrated Solar Combined Cycle’ system.

Deals