While Solel is still working to deliver 553 megawatts of solar thermal power to PG&E in the American Southwest, the Israeli startup is expanding its sales in Spain. Solel today announced its single largest sale of solar receivers — 190,000 thermal receiver systems capable of producing 400 megawatts of power — to Madrid-based Ibereolica Solar S.L. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Solel says that this new deal plus its sale of 70,000 receiver systems earlier this month to a Spanish consortium represent $250 million in business for the startup. Not bad for the month of May.
Solel’s Spanish deals are notably different from its stateside operations. While Solel is building out full power plants and selling power in the Southwest (as it is doing with PG&E), in Spain it sells its parabolic trough technology to power plant developers — a far less risky business model for Solel. Building power plants requires a lengthy permitting process and a huge upfront cost, both difficult propositions for a startup. PG&E has told us it wants to own its own solar power plants, so perhaps it could work with Solel to buy the equipment and then finance its own plant construction.
Today’s deal is the latest in Solel’s rapidly expanding Spanish business. At the start of the year Solel signed a deal to sell 46,000 receivers to Aries Solar Termoelectrica, S.L. , bringing Solel’s total commitment in 2008 in Spain to 306,000 solar thermal systems for 650 megawatts in 11 separate 50 megawatt power plants.
To meet the huge demand, Solel last month announced plans to build a $140 million manufacturing facility in Spain, scheduled to begin production in 2009. To date, Solel says 100,000 of its UVAC 2008 parabolic solar receivers have been installed in the United States, Spain and Israel. The Spanish contracts represent a huge jump in production demand over the course of the next year.
The startup secured $105 million in financing from Ecofin Limited at the start of the year to assist with its expansion.

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