At closing, NRG will invest around $10 million for equity and associated development rights for three projects on sites in south central California and the Southwest US and a portfolio of power purchase agreements (PPAs) to develop, build, own and operate up to 11 eSolar modular solar generating units at these sites. These development assets will use eSolar’s concentrating solar power (CSP) technology to sell renewable electricity under contracted PPAs with local utilities seeking competitively priced, zero-carbon solar power.
eSolar is currently completing its first commercial demonstration CSP plant in Southern California. The facility will be the first fully functioning solar thermal power tower plant built in the US. In building this first plant, eSolar is obtaining valuable design, construction and operational insights to provide NRG the foundation for the implementation of commercial scale facilities.
“This is NRG’s first venture into solar power and it brings an exceptionally important component to the low- and no-carbon focus of our RepoweringNRG program,” said Michael Liebelson, chief development officer low carbon technology for NRG Energy. “By coupling NRG’s construction capabilities and regional operating expertise with eSolar’s innovative CSP technology, we can advance NRG’s renewable energy portfolio while helping to accelerate development of these important projects on a commercial scale.”
“eSolar’s breakthrough modular power plants use more software and less steel to allow solar energy to be competitive with fossil fuels for the first time ever,” said Bill Gross, chiefd executive officer of eSolar. “NRG Energy’s extensive project skills and focus on advancing a diverse portfolio of energy generation technology will help accelerate the deployment of eSolar’s CSP technology in locations across the US.”
