Press release
His Majesty the King of Spain Juan Carlos I
and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed
Al Nahyan Inaugurate Gemasolar Solar Power
Plant in Spain
Fuentes de Andalucía (Seville, Spain), October 4 - Today, His Majesty the King of Spain Juan
Carlos I and His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces officially
inaugurated the new solar power plant Gemasolar in Fuentes Andalucia, Spain.
His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the National Security Adviser and Vice
Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with other dignitaries from the UAE and the
Spanish Government, also attended the event. The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation, Trinidad Jiménez, and the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade, Miguel
Sebastián, were among the invitees. Mr. Sebastian took part in the ceremony, along with the
President of the Andalusian Autonomous Government (Junta de Andalucía), José Antonio
Griñán, who was the last speaker at the event.
Owned by Torresol Energy, a joint venture between Masdar – Abu Dhabi’s holistic and
progressive renewable energy company - and SENER – the leading Spanish engineering and
construction firm, Gemasolar is the first commercial plant in the world to use molten salt thermal
storage in a central tower configuration with a heliostat field.
The Gemasolar facility represents a significant breakthrough in the global solar industry and an
important new field of cooperation between Spain and the UAE.
During the ceremony, the President of Torresol Energy, Enrique Sendagorta, the President of
SENER, Jorge Sendagorta, and the CEO of Masdar, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, highlighted in
their speeches the importance of this project.
Mr Enrique Sendagorta stated: “We want to become a global company that develops the use of
concentrated solar power as a sustainable source of power and therefore contribute to the
protection of the environment for the future generations. The start up of this plant that we
inaugurate today is a first decisive step in our way. Gemasolar, owned by Torresol Energy,
would not have been possible without the contributions of its partners: SENER and Masdar.”
In turn, Mr. Jorge Sendagorta added: “In the last decade, SENER has dedicated an enormous
intellectual and economical effort to the advance and commercial
deployment of the thermoelectric generation from concentrated solar power. An effort that has
given its results, as we have materialized three important contributions to the development of
this technology, the thermal storage, that improves drastically the plant availability and makes it
possible to generate power even when there is no sunshine; the thermoelectric efficiency
increase, with receivers that operate at very high temperatures; and the cost reduction with
industrialized designs and processes (...) All these innovations are particularly demonstrated in
this plant, Gemasolar.”
Dr. Al Jaber said: “Abu Dhabi aims to build bridges with like-minded nations to address the
world’s greatest challenges, such as energy security, climate change mitigation, and sustainable
human development. Today is an important milestone in this endeavor. Masdar is working with
international partners to develop and deploy the most recent scientific and technological
innovations, increasing the role of renewable energy as part of a diversified energy. In this way,
we will build on the UAE’s existing international role as an energy exporter by also becoming a
global provider of future energy knowledge and expertise. The benefits of this plant extend
beyond new technology to economic and social development and we look forward to working
with other nations on opportunities to benefit from this significant achievement.”
More than 350 guests attended the opening, among them representatives of the central,
regional and local governments, leading Spanish political figures, professionals from the
financial arena, business associations and research agencies, as well as leading figures of the
CSP sector and technicians whose work has contributed to the successful completion of the
plant.
Gemasolar is a revolution in the CSP sector, and its commercial operation is expected to lead
the way for other central tower plants with molten salt receiver technology, an efficient system
that improves the dispatchability of electric power from renewable sources.
Gemasolar is a high temperature solar plant, that can reach operating temperatures of over
500°C, much higher than plants with parabolic trough technology, as it does not require oil, but
rather directly uses molten salt as a transfer fluid. These higher temperatures in turn generate
hotter, pressurized steam in the turbine, which significantly increases the plant's efficiency.
The salt storage capacity enables the plant to supply energy to the grid based on demand,
regardless of whether there is solar radiation. Thus, Gemasolar, with its 19.9 MW nameplate
capacity, can supply electricity to a population of 27,500 households in the South of Spain. It is
expected that Gemasolar will produce a net total of over 110 GWhe per year by operating for a
total of 6,450 hours a year at full capacity.
This annual production of Gemasolar (110GWhe) is the equivalent of the energy generated in a
conventional thermal plant burning 89,000 tons of lignite or the converted energy of 217,000 oil
barrels. Therefore, the plant is expected to save more than 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emission a
year.
The plant's most cutting-edge equipment has been developed by SENER. This company has
been responsible for leading the EPC and commissioning works of the plant as well as for
supplying all the technology for Gemasolar and the basic and detail engineering design. As for
Masdar, a strategic developer of renewable energy power projects, the company helped ensure
the commercial approach taken to funding and operating this facility.
Torresol Energy, which commercially develops, manages construction, owns and operates CSP
plants globally, has been awarded a 25-year regulated tariff by the Spanish Government. It is
developing two further facilities - Valle 1 and Valle 2 - in nearby Cadiz. These 50MW facilities
will employ parabolic trough technology and have an expected net electrical production of 160
GWh/year each - equivalent to the average consumption of 40,000 households. The two plants
will together help save 90,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. Both are scheduled to commence start
operations by the end of 2011.
These facilities will help Spain contribute to Europe’s 2020 climate and energy targets which
aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, increase to 20% the use of renewables as a
primary source of energy and reduce primary energy consumption by 20% through improved
efficiency.
A 171 million Euro financing facility was secured through the open market in 2008 for the
construction of Gemasolar, led by Banco Popular, Banesto and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial,
with 90 million Euros of this facility provided by the European Investment Bank. A further Euro
540 million of project finance loans was secured for the construction of Valle 1 and Valle 2.
Raising this amount for first of its kind technology at a commercial scale shows what Masdar
and SENER are capable of as strong, credible technology partners. The support of EIB was
also very important to the viability of this project. Total investment in the three facilities came to
Euro 1bn (US$1.4bn).
Torresol Energy’s projects have already won a number of awards including, Euromoney 2010
Project Finance Deal of the Year for Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants and the US CSP Today 2011
award ‘Commercialized Technology Innovation of the Year’ for Gemasolar. This plant has also
won the Ruban d’Honneur title in the prestigious European Business Awards.
About Torresol Energy
Torresol Energy, a joint venture between the companies SENER and MASDAR, was created for the
purpose of becoming a leader in the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector, with the goal of promoting
technological development and the operation of 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.
Currently, the Company has a plant in commercial operations, Gemasolar, a 19.9 MW solar power plant
with central tower technology and a heliostat field, located in Fuentes de Andalucía, Seville. It has also
two other plants under construction in Cádiz, Valle 1 and Valle 2, two twin 50 MW facilities with parabolic
cylinder collector technology located in San José del Valle.
www.torresolenergy.com
About SENER
SENER is a private engineering and technology group founded in Bilbao in 1956 which offers clients
cutting-edge technological solutions and enjoys international recognition by virtue of its commitment to
innovation, quality and its independence. SENER has a workforce of more than 5,000 professionals and a
turnover of 1,066 million Euros.
SENER engages in the specific activities of engineering, and also has industrial holdings in companies
involved in Energy and Environment, as well as Aerospace.
The Engineering Division, SENER Ingeniería y Sistemas, S.A. is an engineering, construction and
systems integration company which has become one of the leading Spanish engineering firms, with a
turnover of more than 624 million Euros, around 2,200 employees and offices in Abu Dhabi, Algiers,
Barcelona, Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Madrid, Mexico City, Okayama, San Francisco, Seville,
Valencia and Warsaw.
www.sener.es
About Masdar
Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative advancing the development, commercialization and
deployment of renewable energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between
today’s fossil-fuel economy and the energy economy of the future — developing the “greenprint” for how
we will live and work tomorrow. Backed by the stability and reputation of the Mubadala Development
Company, an investment vehicle of the government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the Emirate’s
long-term vision for the future of energy.
About Masdar Power:
Masdar Power is one of the five integrated units of Abu Dhabi’s clean energy initiative - Masdar.
Mandated to build and operate a portfolio of large-scale renewable energy power projects, it is
implementing major projects such as the Shams One solar power plant in the UAE, as well as
international projects including the London Array offshore wind farm, Torresol Energy’s Gemasolar, Valle
1& 2 solar power plants in Spain.
Through its partnerships and investments in technology-relevant to utility-scale renewable energy
operating assets, Masdar Power aims to spearhead breakthroughs in the field of solar PV, concentrated
solar power, onshore and offshore wind.
For more information about the Masdar Initiative, please visit: www.masdar.ae
Further information:
SENER: Oihana Casas.
Communication
Tel.: +34 918077318
Email: [email protected]
MASDAR: Meray Atef
Executive, Media Planning
Telephone: +971 2 653 6014
Email: [email protected]