Solel secures $105m in funding

Solar thermal firm to bolster manufacturing capacity in wake of investment deal

Ecofin Limited, a London-based investment firm, has announced it is investing $105m in solar power plant specialist Solel in return for a significant minority stake in the firm.

Israel-based Solel is the world's largest developer of solar thermal technologies, which generate power by using large fields of parabolic trough-shaped solar panels to heat water and create steam that in turn drives a turbine.

The technology has been used for over 20 years and advocates claim it is significantly more cost effective than other forms of solar power.

Asif Rafique, spokesman for Ecofin said that Solel's established history combined with growing interest in solar thermal power plants in regions such as the southern US, Spain and Israel made the company an attractive investment.

However, he admitted that it was hard to predict when the technology would breakthrough into the mainstream. "In regards to when the technology will become cost competitive with fossil fuels, it would depend on future cost reduction or cost escalations," he said.

Solel is now expected to invest the new funds on the manufacturing and business structure of the company, Rafique said.

The company is currently working on a 150MW solar thermal plant in Spain, which it claims will deliver a 40 per cent improvement in output compared to previous plants, and has also inked a recent power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric in the US to supply a solar thermal power field of 553MW in California.

Ecofin meanwhile is continuing to look for further investments in the solar and renewables sectors, according to Rafique. "We are always looking for investments, and if the right one comes along we would be happy to invest in a similar area to that of solar power energy," he said.