eSolar secures $130m to build pre-fab solar business

Solar thermal start up eSolar yesterday announced it has secured $130m in funding as it seeks to ramp up production of its modular solar power plants.

The company first attracted attention late last year when Google announced it was to invest in the firm as part of its RE to accelerate the development of renewable energy technologies that are cheaper than coal fired power.

Now it has secured a further $130m in an investment round featuring Google's philanthropic arm Google.org, investment firm Idealab and venture capitalist Oak Investment Partners.

The company said the latest investment would support the construction and deployment of solar power farms using the company's pre-fabricated solar thermal power plant technology. It claims that the pre-fabricated approach which sees modules assembled at the company's factory allows the firm to slash construction costs compared to conventional solar thermal power systems that require high levels of up front investment.

Each of the modules can generate up to 33MW of power and is based on heliostat mirrors that track the sun's movement and direct energy onto thermal receiver towers, which create steam that in turn powers electric turbines. The company claims that the low lying mirrors also require fewer costly raw materials, such as steel and concrete, than existing solar thermal systems.

The modular approach to deployment also means that the system can take up significantly less land than conventional solar thermal power plants, an advantage claims will mean it can "deliver more clean, carbon free power where it is needed: near the cities and towns where it is consumed".

eSolar said it has secured land rights across the south west US that will allow it to produce over 1GW and now aims to have its first demonstration plant in southern California up and running before the end of this year.

Bill Gross, eSolar Chairman and Founder of Idealab, heralded the development of pre-fabricated solar power systems as a major breakthrough in the sectors commercial viability. "eSolar’s primary business goal is nothing short of making solar electricity for less than the price of coal, without subsidies," he said. "This is not only attainable, but will truly change the world."