California Public Utilities Commission Approves Two BrightSource Energy Contracts With Southern California Edison

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrightSource Energy, a leading concentrating solar thermal technology company, announced today that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved two amended BrightSource contracts with Southern California Edison (SCE).

The contracts, totaling 1,300,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, will help California take a significant step towards reaching its clean energy goals with reliable and cost-effective power. Collectively, the contracts represent billions of dollars in direct investment in California’s economy, more than 2,000 construction jobs in some of California’s hardest hit local economies, and avoidance of more than 400,000 tons of annual CO2 emissions.

In its decision, the Commission highlighted the growing importance of highly reliable clean energy resources, like BrightSource’s power tower technology, in California’s electricity mix. According to the proposed alternate leading up to the final decision, “BrightSource’s technology with storage allows Southern California to optimize generation based on changing system requirements. This unique attribute decreases renewable integration risk and provides more value for ratepayers.” During the meeting, the Commissioners also noted the need to have viable projects, like Rio Mesa, that will be commercially financeable in the absence of the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Guarantee program.

“We’re pleased by the Commission’s approval of our contracts with Southern California Edison,” said John Woolard, President and CEO of BrightSource Energy. “The approval of these contracts allows us to build on the technology innovations deployed at our Ivanpah project, and continue driving down costs and improving efficiencies in our next generation plants, while incorporating storage into our power tower systems.”

The first of the approved contracts is for a power tower project at BrightSource’s Rio Mesa site, which is designed to produce 573,000 megawatt-hours annually. The plant at Rio Mesa will employ BrightSource’s next-generation LPT technology, which feature a 750-foot tall tower that allows for a high concentration of heliostats. This design significantly reduces the amount of land required to produce energy - up to 33% less than a typical photovoltaic (PV) farm or other solar thermal technologies. The design also improves plant performance and improves efficiencies, reducing the total cost of power.

The second contract approved is for a unit at the company’s Sonoran West site that is designed to produce 733,000 megawatt-hours annually. The contract will be the first to deploy BrightSource’s SolarPLUSTM thermal storage system, which provides operational flexibility and reliability services needed to balance the grid as increasing amounts of intermittent PV and wind come on line — without the emissions and expense associated with peaker plants that would otherwise be required for reliability.

There is growing recognition of the important value that concentrating solar thermal technology brings to support grid reliability. Recent studies by the U.S. national labs point to the high value provided by concentrating solar thermal power with storage, especially when compared to wind and solar technologies that cannot integrate cost-effective storage options. This added value is a result of the resource’s unique capabilities including:

•     Shifting electricity production to periods of highest demand
•     Providing firm capacity to the power system; replacing the need for conventional power plants as opposed to just supplementing their output
•     Providing ancillary services such as spinning reserves to help support a reliable grid
•     Avoiding the variability and integration costs that other renewable resources like photovoltaics (PV) and wind create for utilities and grid operators; reducing the need for additional fossil fuel units required to back up intermittent renewables that put a hidden financial burden on ratepayers

Southern California Edison submitted today’s approved contracts in November 2011 as part of a package of five contracts with BrightSource. In addition to the two approved today, the CPUC denied Southern California Edison cost recovery for the three other contracts – a 200 MW project at Rio Mesa and two 200 MW projects at the company’s Siberia site. The Rio Mesa project will continue to move forward as planned with an anticipated permitting decision from the California Energy Commission. The Siberia project will remain a part of BrightSource’s 90,000 acre site portfolio.

About BrightSource Energy, Inc.

BrightSource Energy, Inc. is a leader in the design and development of concentrating solar thermal technology used to produce high-value electricity and steam for power, petroleum and process markets. To learn more about BrightSource Energy and concentrating solar thermal energy, visit www.brightsourceenergy.com.

BrightSource Energy Raises More Than $80 Million of Additional Equity Financing

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrightSource Energy, a leading concentrating solar thermal technology company, has raised more than $80 million in additional equity financing. This brings BrightSource’s total equity financing to more than $615 million and positions the company for significant international growth.

“Today’s capital raise reflects the important role of our solar thermal power tower technology in meeting the world’s growing demand for cost-effective power that is not only clean, but reliable as well,” said John Woolard, Chief Executive Officer of BrightSource. “With these funds we will continue to build solar power plants for our U.S. customers, while significantly increasing our presence around the globe.”

Alstom, a global leader in the world of power generation, and VantagePoint Capital Partners lead the round. Additional investors include DFJ, CalSTRS, DBL Investors, Goldman Sachs, Chevron Technology Ventures and BP Ventures among others.

“Strengthening our partnership with BrightSource Energy enhances our development towards providing fully integrated solar thermal power plants. This new investment is a further step in our commitment to the solar thermal power market, and paves the way to provide cost-efficient and reliable carbon free power to our customers,” said Jérôme Pécresse, Alstom Renewable Power President. “This reinforces solar thermal power’s position at the heart of Alstom’s strategy providing leading renewable power solutions spanning hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass.”

As part of the financing round, BrightSource and Alstom have expanded geographic partnerships to build solar thermal power plants in India and Australia. In October 2010, the companies announced partnerships in the Mediterranean Ring and Africa. The companies are also collaborating on a series of solar research and development activities focused on thermal storage and hybridization with fossil fuels.

“With its Ivanpah plant nearing completion, BrightSource is demonstrating the important role that large scale solar thermal power will play in providing clean, cost-effective and reliable power to the American grid,” said Stephan Dolezalek, Managing Director at VantagePoint. “BrightSource’s unique technology combines the scale, robustness and stability of conventional power plants with the attractive low-carbon profile of using a solar feedstock. In addition, the Company's model of working closely with global partners including Alstom, Bechtel, NRG, Google and Chevron is how we see the technology of energy evolving.”

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar energy, including both Concentrated Solar Thermal Power and Photovoltaics could account for 25% of global electricity by 2050 and cover a third of global energy demand after 2060. Concentrating solar thermal power alone could supply 11.3% of the world’s electricity by 2050.

BrightSource Energy currently operates a 6 MW thermal demonstration facility in Israel’s Negev Desert and a 29 MW thermal facility for Chevron Corp. in Coalinga, California. BrightSource is currently constructing the 377 MW (net) Ivanpah solar project in partnership with NRG Energy and Google. Ivanpah is more than 60 percent complete and due to provide clean, reliable energy to over 140,000 California homes by the end of 2013. The company’s next two projects, the 500 MW Rio Mesa and 500 MW Hidden Hills projects, are currently under review by the California Energy Commission and expected to receive a permitting decision in 2013.

About BrightSource Energy, Inc.

BrightSource Energy, Inc. is a leader in the design and development of concentrating solar thermal technology used to produce high-value electricity and steam for power, petroleum and process markets. To learn more about BrightSource Energy and concentrating solar thermal energy, visit www.brightsourceenergy.com.

Concentrating Solar Power Alliance Launched

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(Solar Energy News)--Leading concentrating solar power companies, Abengoa, BrightSource Energy, and Torresol Energy today announced the formation of the Concentrating Solar Power Alliance (CSPA). The new organization is dedicated to educating U.S. regulators, utilities and grid operators about the unique benefits of concentrating solar power (CSP) and of thermal energy storage as a foundational resource for a reliable, low-carbon electricity mix and a driver of economic growth.

“Concentrating solar power technology is the only renewable resource that is capable of harnessing the world’s most abundant fuel source – the sun – to produce reliable, cost-effective, and dispatchable electricity,” said Tex Wilkins, Executive Director of the CSP Alliance. “We believe CSP, with the ability to dispatch electricity when it is needed, is critical in meeting the energy challenges facing the United States and the world.”

The Alliance’s mission is to promote the increased acceptance, adoption and implementation of concentrating solar power plants in the United States. The Alliance will also promote policies to encourage and advance CSP technology deployment.

CSP technologies use mirrors to concentrate the thermal energy of the sun to drive a conventional steam turbine. The first commercial CSP plants were built in California in the mid-1980’s and are operating today with a higher output than when they were new.

There are currently over 500 MW of CSP plants operating in the U.S and more than 1,300 megawatts of CSP plants under construction nationally, with many gigawatts more under development. Worldwide, more than one gigawatt of CSP is in operation. The International Energy Agency estimates that CSP projects now in development or under construction in more than a dozen countries (including China, India, Morocco, Spain and the United States) total 15 gigawatts.

Utilities and grid operators worldwide value CSP plants because of the technology’s ability to:

•     Produce electricity at peak demand when it is needed most during the late afternoon or early summer evening hours or winter mornings
•     Include cost-effective, efficient thermal energy storage to provide a flexible and dispatchable clean energy source, day or night
•     Incorporate into fossil fuel power plants as “hybrids” for cleaner baseload power

There are different designs for steam-producing CSP technology that incorporate storage. These include power towers, parabolic troughs and linear reflectors, each based on proven engineering principles.

CSP plants have also shown to be great creators of economic benefits in the regions where they are built as well as across the United States. A recent study of the Spanish CSP industry by Deloitte found that compared to other power generation sources, CSP plants are a strong generator of local jobs during construction, operation, and maintenance. The supply chain feeding CSP plants creates jobs nationwide as well, due largely to the plants’ high percentage of domestically-sourced components1. Another study commissioned by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab for the Department of Energy found that a 100 megawatt CSP plant creates more than $600 million in impact to gross state output, ten times that of a combined cycle fossil plant2 due to the local content and job creation.

The formation of the CSP Alliance builds on the momentum following the creation of the World Solar Thermal Electricity Association (STELAWorld), a consortium of industry associations representing the solar thermal electricity industry in Europe, Australia and South Africa. While independent of STELAWorld, the CSP Alliance will work closely with these associations to further advance the solar thermal industry in the U.S. and abroad.

CSP is poised to grow worldwide, creating clean power and jobs as it expands to meet the world’s energy needs. Current CSP projects are demonstrating the technology’s viability and a recent study from the International Energy Agency shows that with sufficient investment and the right government policies, more than ten percent of the world’s electricity demand could be satisfied by CSP by 2050.

For more information about CSP Alliance, visit http://www.csp-alliance.org