By Greentech
Lead Team: SolarReserve, a developer of solar power projects, has completed a
540-foot solar power tower for its 110 megawatt (MW) Crescent Dunes Solar
Energy Plant located near Tonopah, Nev.
The Crescent
Dunes plant will be the nation’s first commercial-scale solar power facility
with fully integrated energy storage and the largest power plant of its kind in
the world.
“Completion
of the solar power tower is a significant milestone not only for SolarReserve
and our plant, but also for the solar energy industry as a whole. This project
is on track to bring American innovation to fruition and is already creating
jobs,” said Kevin Smith, CEO of SolarReserve.
SolarReserve
claims that the U.S.-developed technology has the ability to store energy for
10-15 hours and solves the issue of intermittent power generation to the grid,
the number one limitation to other solar and wind renewable energy technologies.
The company
can deliver electricity on demand the same way a coal, natural gas or nuclear
fueled plant does, but without emitting any harmful pollution or hazardous
materials providing a genuine alternative to conventional power generation.
The project
is jointly owned by SolarReserve, ACS Cobra, a provider of engineering and
construction of power plants and solar thermal facilities, and Santander, a
global financial services and banking firm.
ACS Cobra’s
Nevada-based affiliate, Cobra Thermosolar Plants is the general contractor for
the project and is utilizing Nevada and regional subcontractors to perform the
work.
“SolarReserve’s
molten salt power tower technology will change the face of solar thermal power
as the world knows it, and we are excited to help implement this important
technology in Nevada,” said Jose Alfonso Nebrera Garcia, director general of
ACS Cobra.
Construction
of the facility began in September of 2011 and currently has over 100 workers
on site. More than 70 percent of the construction workers are local Nevadans
and 80 percent of the subcontractors are Nevada-based, including union and
non-union firms.
Construction
is expected to peak at more than 600 jobs on site during the 30-month
construction period and is estimated to create more than 4,300 direct, indirect
and induced jobs at companies throughout the U.S. that provide engineering,
equipment supply and manufacturing, transportation and other value-added
services. To date, orders for the project have been placed for equipment and
services in more than 20 states.
The Crescent
Dunes project has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy and
will provide clean power to approximately 75,000 homes when complete. The
project closed financing in September of 2011 utilizing private equity
investment from SolarReserve, ACS Cobra and Santander along with support from
the US Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program.
“NV Energy
is committed to supporting renewable energy development in Nevada and is
pleased to be working with SolarReserve on the Crescent Dunes Energy Plant,”
said Michael Yackira, president and CEO of NV Energy.