Torresol Energy says that it has completed the first stage of its strategic plan with the commissioning of two concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in Spain.
The joint venture company announced at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants in Cadiz, Spain were commissioned in January.
The plants are identical 50 MW parabolic trough facilities equipped with thermal storage. Their commissioning follows the official inauguration in October 2011 of the 17 MW Gemasolar CSP plant in Spain by Torresol, a joint venture between Spain’s Sener and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar.
“With these twin plants in Spain, Torresol Energy completes the first stage of our strategic plan,” said Enrique Sendagorta, President of Torresol. “We expect to start soon on other CSP projects in different countries located in what is referred to as the sun-belt region.”
Torresol, which was set up in March 2008, is also hoping to put the Shams 1 plant into operation later this year, a move that would bring its installed capacity of CSP to over 200 MW.
Construction on Valle 1 and Valle 2 began in December 2009, and was completed in December 2011. In January 2012 the plants were connected to Spanish national grid for commercial operations.
Sener led the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the two projects, and has provided all of the technology and engineering for both plants.
Each of the plants will produce 160 GWh of power per year, equivalent to the amount of power consumed by 40 000 households. Together, the two plants will cut CO2 emissions by approximately 90 000 tons/year.
The thermal storage of the plants allows them to continue producing energy for 7.5 hours at full power capacity without sunlight.
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