PRESS RELEASE
Torresol Energy, part of the new concentrating
solar power alliance CSPA
Tex Wilkins, Veteran of U.S. Department of Energy Solar Program, to Lead
New Organization
San Francisco, March 6, 2012 –Torresol Energy, a leading company that promotes the technological
development, construction, operation and maintenance of large concentrated solar power plants, has
announced today along with Abengoa and BrightSource Energy, the formation of the Concentrating
Solar Power Alliance (CSPA). The new organization is dedicated to educating U.S. regulators, utilities
and grid operators about the unique benefits of concentrating solar power (CSP) and of thermal
energy storage as a foundational resource for a reliable, low-carbon electricity mix and a driver of
economic growth.
“Concentrating solar power technology is the only renewable resource that is capable of harnessing
the world’s most abundant fuel source – the sun – to produce reliable, cost-effective, and
dispatchable electricity,” said Tex Wilkins, Executive Director of CSP Alliance. “We believe CSP, with
the ability to dispatch electricity when it is needed is critical in meeting the energy challenges facing
the United States and the world.”
Felicia Bellows, Senior Vice President of Development at Torresol Energy in the U.S., declared: “With
this new alliance we expect to promote solar thermal energy as a sustainable source of power and
therefore contribute to the protection of the environment for the future generations.”
“From Torresol Energy, we keep working in order to reduce the costs of this clean energy, in order to
make it an economically competitive option to traditional sources.” - Ms. Bellows added - “We are
working in new innovations, such as a single-tank storage system or a new generation of high power
central tower plants with molten salt receiver technology. We are definitely following the path
established last year with the commercial operation of the innovative plant Gemasolar, the first
commercial plant in the world with a central tower molten salt receiver.”
The Alliance’s mission is to promote the increased acceptance, adoption and implementation of
concentrating solar power plants in the United States. The Alliance will also promote policies to
encourage and advance CSP technology deployment.
CSP technologies use mirrors to concentrate the thermal energy of the sun to drive a conventional
steam turbine. The first commercial CSP plants were built in California in the mid-1980’s and are
operating today with a higher output than when they were new. There are currently over 500 MW of
CSP plants operating in the U.S and more than 1,300 megawatts of CSP plants under construction in
the U.S, with many gigawatts more under development. Worldwide, more than 1 gigawatt of CSP is
in operation. The International Energy Agency estimates that CSP
projects now in development or under construction in more than a dozen countries (including China,
India, Morocco, Spain and the United States) total 15 gigawatts.
Utilities and grid operators worldwide value CSP plants because of the technology’s ability to:

Produce electricity at peak demand when it is needed most during the late afternoon or early
summer evening hours or winter mornings.

Include cost-effective, efficient thermal energy storage to provide a flexible and dispatchable clean
energy source, day or night.

Incorporate into coal or gas power plants as “hybrids” for cleaner baseload power.
There are different designs for steam-producing CSP technology that incorporate storage. These
include power towers, parabolic troughs and linear reflectors, each based on proven engineering
principles.
CSP plants have also shown to be great creators of economic benefits in the regions where they are
built as well as across the United States. A recent study by Deloitte found that compared to other
power generation sources, CSP plants are a strong generator of local jobs during construction, in
operation, and maintenance. The supply chain feeding CSP plants create jobs nationwide as well,
due largely to the plant’s high percentage of domestically-sourced componentsi. Another study
commissioned by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab for the Department of Energy found that a
100 megawatt CSP plant creates more than $600 million in impact to gross state output, ten times
that of a combined cycle fossil plantii due to the local content and job creation.
The formation of the CSP Alliance builds on the momentum following the creation of the World Solar
Thermal Electricity Association (STELAWorld) a consortium of industry associations representing the
solar thermal electricity industry in Europe, Australia and South Africa. While independent of
STELAWorld, the CSP Alliance will work closely with these associations to further advance the solar
thermal industry in the U.S. and abroad.
CSP is poised to grow worldwide, creating clean power and jobs as it expands to meet the world’s
energy needs. Current CSP projects demonstrate the technology’s viability and a recent study from
the International Energy Agency shows that with sufficient investment and the right government
policies, more than ten percent of the world’s electricity demand could be satisfied by CSP by 2050.
For more information about CSP Alliance, visit: http://www.csp-alliance.org
About Torresol Energy
Torresol Energy, an alliance between the companies SENER and MASDAR, was created with the purpose of becoming a
leader in the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector, with the goal of promoting technological development and operating
large concentrated solar power plants around the world, especially in the so-called “solar belt”: Southern Europe, including
Spain, Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Southwestern USA.
Every new Torresol Energy project will introduce and test new technologies with SENER’s support in order to make
Concentrated Solar Power an economically competitive option and thus make it a real, viable, ecological and sustainable
alternative to traditional energy. In this regard, the protection of the environment for future generations is one of Torresol
Energy's core commitments.
The company currently has three solar plants in operation in Spain: the 19.9 MW Gemasolar plant with central tower and
heliostat field technology located in Fuentes de Andalucia, Seville, and Valle 1 and
Valle 2, twin 50 MW installations with parabolic trough technology located in San Jose del Valle, Cadiz.
Links:
www.torresolenergy.com; http://www.csp-alliance.org
Further information:
Torresol Energy in the U.S.:
Felicia Bellows
Tel: +1 (415) 391-3972
Email: [email protected]
Torresol Energy in Spain:
Corporate Communication
Oihana Casas
Tel.: +34 918077318
Email: [email protected]
i
http://www.estelasolar.eu/fileadmin/ESTELAdocs/d
ocuments/Publications/Macroeconomic_impact_of_
the_Solar_Thermal_Electricity_Industry_in_Spain_
Protermo_Solar_Deloitte_21x21.pdf
ii http://www.nrel.gov/csp/pdfs/39291.pdf