Ausra, Leading Utilities Commit to Large Scale Solar Thermal Electric Power
Ausra, FPL Group, PG&E Corp. commit to develop solar thermal power plants as affordable way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and battle climate change
CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE 2007 ANNUAL MEETING, NEW YORK—Sept. 27, 2007—Today, in association with leading utilities FPL Group, Inc. and PG&E Corp., Ausra, Inc., a solar thermal power technology company, presented a formal commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting for a clean energy future through the development of 1,000 megawatts of solar thermal power plants that will generate 50 million megawatt-hours of clean power over a 20-year period. As part of this announcement, PG&E Corp. committed to purchasing an additional 1,000 megawatts of solar thermal power over the next five years. Separately at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, FPL Group committed to develop 500 megawatts of solar thermal power plants. Collectively these commitments will generate about as much electric power as all the photovoltaic solar panels installed worldwide in 2006, replacing fossil fuel-generated electricity with clean, low-cost solar thermal power, and will prevent the emission of more than 73 million tons of carbon dioxide into the earth's atmosphere over 20 years(1).
The announcement represents a significant development in the debate on how the nation will affordably meet its electricity needs while securing energy supplies and slowing global warming. Solar thermal power plants generate electricity by driving steam turbines with sunshine. Solar concentrators boil water with focused sunlight, generating high-pressure steam which drives conventional turbine generators. Energy storage systems can store heat from the sun to allow solar electric power to be generated on demand, day and night.
"Florida has much at stake with global warming, and we are committed to meeting our customers' needs with clean energy. We at FPL Group are proud of our leadership position in clean energy and are pleased to take yet another step towards helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Lewis Hay, chairman and CEO of FPL Group, parent company of Florida Power & Light. "As the operator of the largest solar energy facility in the world, FPL Group has evaluated Ausra's new solar thermal technology, and we view this breakthrough technology as a promising option to make solar energy an economically sound addition to our power generation going forward." FPL Group is the nation's leader in wind and solar energy today.
"PG&E has identified solar thermal technology as a reliable energy source that can provide millions of American electric customers with some of the cleanest and most cost-effective renewable energy," said PG&E Corp. President and CEO Peter Darbee. "As one of the cleanest energy providers in the United States, PG&E is delighted to be making this commitment as part of the Clinton Global Initiative today." PG&E is currently in discussions with several vendors to identify the projects with whom it will partner.
Worldwide, electric power generation creates 40 percent of the pollution contributing to global warming, and is the fastest-growing source of such pollution.
"Solar thermal generation can deliver the majority of U.S. electric power and make major, much-needed reductions in the emissions that are changing Earth's climate. World-class partners like FPL Group and PG&E Corp. have decided that solar thermal technology can help deliver large-scale clean power at competitive prices. The name Ausra derives from an ancient word for the sunrise. Today we are witnessing the dawn of an industry that addresses several major national needs at once," said Ausra Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer David Mills.
"Solar thermal technology can scale up within a few decades to deliver over 90 percent of world electricity without carbon emissions and without raising prices for electric power. Electricity generated by an Ausra solar thermal power plant can be made available around the clock and reach capacity factors of 60 percent, just like coal and gas plants, and is expected to be competitive with current fossil generation and cheaper than next generation IGCC coal," said venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, a member of the Clinton Global Initiative Advisory Board and Ausra's board of directors.
About Ausra
Ausra, Inc. develops and deploys utility-scale solar thermal power technology to serve global electricity and thermal energy needs in a dependable, market-competitive, environmentally responsible manner. Located in Palo Alto, Calif., Ausra is a privately held company funded by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. To learn more about Ausra and solar thermal power in general, visit www.ausra.com.
(1)
- According to the Photovoltaic Service Program at Navigant Consulting, 1744 MW of solar panels were installed in 2006, of which 140 MW were installed in the US. This commitment totals over 2000 MW of generation.
- 73 million tons of carbon dioxide corresponds to 20 years of operation of 2000 MW generation at 30% capacity factor; US fleet average CO2/MWh of 1392.49 lbs. This is equivalent to removing over 250,000 cars from U.S. roads for 20 years.
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