Ausra Reflectors To Power 100 MW Solar Thermal Plant in Jordan

Ausra’s first solar energy installation in America. The company is now heading to Jordan in the Middle East.

Jordan likes the look of nuclear energy: a report this week says the Middle East country has unearthed a large uranium reserve. Some say that nuclear energy is a renewable energy source, but in this Green Prophet’s opinion, any source of energy that causes its handlers to get sick (I have a friend whose father died from cancer due to radiation exposure at a reactor in Israel); or which can cause a Chernobyl-like meltdown, or which takes hundreds, if not thousands of years for its spent fuel to neutralize, is no friend of mine.

Some warmer and fuzzier news for Jordan and those who’d like to invest in Middle East clean technology: like Israel (where there’s a goldrush-like interest in solar energy investment) , its next-door neighbor Jordan is firing up solar power plants to provide long-term clean energy.

Green Prophet just received this news from the CA-based company Ausra that it has been chosen to supply solar steam boilers to the 100-megawatt JOAN1 concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) project in development in Ma’an, Jordan.

Ausra says this choice is an important milestone in the development of JOAN1, which will include a back-up fossil-fuel boiler to guarantee 24-hour dispatchable electric power.

The JOAN1 project is expected to enter operation in 2013 and will be the largest CSP project in the world using direct solar steam generation.

The selection process was competitive and Ausra announced its victory at SolarPACES, the largest conference in the CSP industry. The New York Times’ blog Green Inc gives a little more background on Ausra’s recent deals.

Samer Zureikat, the managing director of the German-based company MENA Cleantech AG said: “Jordan’s modern investment laws and progressive regulatory climate coupled with its unparalleled solar resource make Ma’an one of the best locations in the world to build a Concentrating Solar Power plant.”

More about JOAN1:

JOAN1 will use on Ausra’s reflector technology to power the plant’s solar steam cycle and generate up to 100 MW of electricity. JOAN1 will use dry cooling to conserve water. Ausra plans to install an advanced manufacturing facility in Jordan in order to supply JOAN1 with its solar steam boilers.

Investors take note: The project is scheduled for financial close in the fourth quarter of 2010, with construction beginning in early 2011.

More about Ausra

Ausra’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar steam systems are designed for existing fossil-fired plants, new standalone solar and solar/fossil hybrid plants, and a diverse range of industrial customers.

Its CLFR, according to them, is the most land-efficient solar technology in operation, generating 1.5-to-3 times more peak power per acre of land than competing solar technologies.

::Ausra website