Ausra (company)

Fresnel solar concentrators.

Ausra Inc. is a company that provides solar thermal power, steam and energy systems for industrial processes and utility-scale electricity generation. Ausra is now Areva Solar, owned by French nuclear group Areva.

Technical details

Ausra's power plants drive steam turbines with heat from solar radiation:

"Locally manufactured solar concentrators made of steel and glass focus sunlight to boil water, generating high-pressure steam that drives conventional turbine generators. New thermal energy storage systems using pressurized water and low cost materials will provide for on-demand generation day and night."

Ausra's power plants are load-following clean technologies:

"Although it is often said that “solar cannot produce base load electricity”, it should now be recognized that base load is what coal and nuclear technologies produce, not what is required by society. Because humankind evolved to be most active when the sun was up, human activity and energy usage correlates significantly with the delivery from direct solar systems. Human activity does not correlate with base load coal or nuclear on a daily basis. Load-following clean technologies are what we should be seeking."

Manufacturing

Ausra has built the first U.S. manufacturing plant for solar thermal power systems, in Las Vegas. The 130,000-square-foot (12,000 m²), highly automated manufacturing and distribution center produces the reflectors, towers, absorber tubes, and other key components of the company's solar thermal power plants. The plant began operation in July 2008.

Business strategy

Ausra's proprietary technology significantly reduces the cost of a solar thermal power plant and so is capable of significantly reducing global carbon emissions normally associated with electricity generation. Ausra secured more than $40 million in funding from Silicon Valley venture capital firms Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers.

In the fallout of the 2008–09 recession, Ausra has laid off 10% of its workers and redirected its efforts toward making solar equipment for other companies rather than building its own power plants. In October 2008, Ausra launched the 5 MW Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant in Bakersfield, California, demonstrating its technology. In November 2009 the company canceled its plans to build the 177 MW Carrizo Energy Solar Farm in California. Utility-scale projects are still on the drawing board and will continue to be part of Ausra's long-term strategy but, in the near term, Ausra will focus on deploying medium-sized solar steam generating systems that can be installed quickly and generate revenue immediately.

In April 2009, Ausra announced a $25.5 million equity funding facility. These funds are available to Ausra for expansion and acceleration of the company's solar thermal equipment supply business. In November, Ausra announced that it was seeking to sell itself, because "it will not be able to deploy its capital-intensive solar technology on a large scale without the backing of major company." In February 2010, Areva acquired Ausra for an undisclosed price. In April 2010, AREVA announced that its Global Solar Business Unit will be called AREVA Solar and will be headquartered in Mountain View, California. Dr. Robert E. Fishman will serve as chief executive officer. Ausra is to lead AREVA Solar.

See also

• Concentrating solar power
• David Mills (solar researcher)
• SkyFuel
• Solar Power
• Vinod Khosla
• List of concentrating solar thermal power companies

External links

• Official website

Reviews

• Solar's Day In The Sun, BusinessWeek, October 15 2007
• Solar takes off with US power supply deal - Australian technology to revolutionise clean electricity, ABC TV(2 videos), 1 October 2007
• Clinton, Crist Announce FPL Solar Power Plant, September 26, 2007
• Ausra, By Bryan Walsh, Apr. 17, 2008, TIME
• Solar developer Ausra gets $60M private investments
• Ausra’s first solar thermal plant starts up