Areva branches out into solar

French nuclear firm Areva announced yesterday its acquisition of US firm Ausra as it moves into the solar market for the first time.

Areva has targeted €1bn (£879m) in sales from non-nuclear renewable energy by 2012.

Ausra is a specialist in solar thermal technologies which concentrate the sun's heat to boil water in pipes, driving steam turbines.

Anil Srivastava, head of renewables at Areva, said: "By acquiring Ausra, Areva has taken a major step forward to achieve its strategic ambition in renewables. The Group intends to become the world leader in concentrated solar power (CSP) thanks to a reliable, cost-effective product."

Areva intends to invest some $100m (£64m) over two years in building sales teams in a handful of targeted markets, and in strengthening research and development capacity.

The French firm says the market for CSP plants is expected to grow substantially in the next decade with an average annual growth rate of 20 per cent, and should reach an estimated installed capacity of more than 20GW by 2020.

Ausra's chief executive Robert E Fishman said: "Combining Areva's financial and commercial strengths and energy expertise with Ausra's proven technology and experienced management team will help position Areva for even greater success in the renewable and carbon-free energy industry."

Fishman will stay on to lead Areva's global solar business unit.

This acquisition is expected to close in the next few months, subject to regulatory approval.

According to a recent report on the renewable market by Nomura Equities, solar thermal power is likely to be the strongest-growing segment in the solar industry, as it can easily be added as extra capacity to conventional power plants.

Last year engineering group Siemens paid $418m for Israel’s Solel, a manufacturer of solar thermal systems.