Solel will be undertaking an additional round of capital raising, following which Ecofin will hold a very significant minority stake in the company.
Solel is currently in the process of constructing 150MW of solar thermal plants in Spain. Research and development carried out by Solel’s team of engineers has improved the output of the solar thermal field by more than 40% compared to the original solar energy generating systems (SEGS) plants.
In addition, Solel has signed a power purchase agreement with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company to supply a solar thermal power field of 553MW in California, US, and is in discussions with a number of other utilities about similar projects.
Bernard Lambilliotte, chief investment officer of Ecofin, said: We are delighted to make this investment in Solel and look forward to supporting the company through a period of rapid growth. The use of parabolic troughs in the creation of solar thermal power plants represents a real opportunity to develop a utility scale solution to renewable energy.
