GE Energy has signed an investment and licensing agreement with US-based eSolar to deploy integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) technology worldwide.
Under the deal, GE will become the minority shareholder and will license and incorporate eSolar technology into its product offering of cost-effective ISCC and standalone solar thermal power plants.
Turkish power projects developer MetCap Energy Investments will collaborate with GE in making this investment.
GE Energy president and CEO Paul Browning said the company is looking integrating natural gas and renewable energy sources to provide clean energy which is cost effective and more reliable.
"We developed the FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle Power Plant to enable more renewables to come on the grid and to improve power plant efficiency. Our investment in eSolar is another step in our journey to transform the energy industry." Browning said.
GE will incorporate eSolar’s high temperature tower technology to its FlexEfficiency combined cycle power plant to create a highly efficient and reliable ISCC plant which offers 70% fuel efficiency.
The ISCC project combines a combined-cycle system including a gas turbine, steam turbine, generators and a heat recovery steam generator with a field of mirrors.
The mirrors produce steam which is then fed into the water-steam cycle of the combined-cycle plant to generate extra megawatts of electricity without using any additional natural gas.
eSolar is a provider of next-generation, tower-based concentrating solar thermal technology.