News Article
PV Power For The Island Of Crete
38MW Solar electricity license granted from Greek regulatory agency
NUR-MOH SA announced that it received a 38 megawatt (MW) Electricity Generation License for a solar power plant on the island of Crete in Greece from the Greek regulatory agency. The Crete Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant will be the first in Europe to feature BrightSource Energy's proprietary LPT 550 solar technology system and will produce electricity for approximately 13,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by 35,000 tons annually. The developer Nur-MOH SA is a joint venture between Nur Energie, an independent power producer and developer active in the Mediterranean region, and Motor Oil Hellas (MOH), one of the largest corporations in Greece, and listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
"After careful consideration, we selected BrightSource's LPT 550 energy system because of the technology's superior performance, low impact environmental design and ability to be customized to Crete's unique energy load profile," said Kevin Sara, founder and CEO of Nur Energie. "When completed, this will be the largest tower installation and the most technologically advanced CSP plant in Europe."
BrightSource Energy's proprietary LPT 550 energy system is designed to offer the industry's highest operating efficiencies and lowest capital costs. The system uses thousands of small mirrors - called heliostats - to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine, which generates electricity. In order to conserve water, the steam is air-cooled and piped back into the system in a closed-loop, environmentally friendly process. By using a dry-cooling technology, the plant consumes approximately 95 percent less water than competing wet-cooled solar thermal technologies.
"This licensing agreement reflects growing recognition of power towers as the commercial solar thermal technology of choice for energy markets around the world," said John Woolard, president and CEO of BrightSource Energy. "We're proud to be working with Nur Energie to provide the people of Crete with highly efficient, reliable and environmentally responsible power." For Nur Energie, this is the first CSP plant to be licensed within a portfolio of solar development activities, including large scale solar power plants in North Africa.
"After careful consideration, we selected BrightSource's LPT 550 energy system because of the technology's superior performance, low impact environmental design and ability to be customized to Crete's unique energy load profile," said Kevin Sara, founder and CEO of Nur Energie. "When completed, this will be the largest tower installation and the most technologically advanced CSP plant in Europe."
BrightSource Energy's proprietary LPT 550 energy system is designed to offer the industry's highest operating efficiencies and lowest capital costs. The system uses thousands of small mirrors - called heliostats - to reflect sunlight onto a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature steam. The steam is then piped to a conventional turbine, which generates electricity. In order to conserve water, the steam is air-cooled and piped back into the system in a closed-loop, environmentally friendly process. By using a dry-cooling technology, the plant consumes approximately 95 percent less water than competing wet-cooled solar thermal technologies.
"This licensing agreement reflects growing recognition of power towers as the commercial solar thermal technology of choice for energy markets around the world," said John Woolard, president and CEO of BrightSource Energy. "We're proud to be working with Nur Energie to provide the people of Crete with highly efficient, reliable and environmentally responsible power." For Nur Energie, this is the first CSP plant to be licensed within a portfolio of solar development activities, including large scale solar power plants in North Africa.
