The Minister announced this decision yesterday during a meeting with representatives of the solar industry in Madrid. The ministerial order will be ratified by the Cabinet on Friday 13th.
Christian Beltle, CEO of Solar Millennium: "With the Andasol power plants in the south of Spain we have developed Europe´s first-ever parabolic trough power plants. Thanks to the pre-registration, there is nothing more standing in our way of rapidly realising Andasol 3 and Ibersol as well." Ibersol is the fourth 50 MW parabolic trough power plant developed by Solar Millennium in Spain. It will be built in the Spanish Extremadura region, whereas Andasol 1 to 3 are located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia.
Pre-registration is needed before the statutorily guaranteed feed-in tariff can be granted. The entry into the register guarantees the receipt of the full feed-in tariff provided that the power plants are completed within the next 36 months (Andasol 3) respective 48 months (Ibersol).
Thomas Mayer, CFO of Solar Millennium: "This is the breakthrough for a rapid implementation of both power plants and a further milestone on our stringent growth path. The increased investment security thereby provided will make our projects more attractive to investors. In line with the example set by Andasol 3, in which Stadtwerke München, RWE Innogy, RheinEnergie and MAN Ferrostaal invested, we plan to realize Ibersol together with partners, who provide the equity required for its construction."
The construction of Andasol 3 is underway, and the first stage of the solar field with approximately 60,000 square-metres of collector surface has already been completed. It is the third solar thermal power plant project with a capacity of 50 MW that Solar Millennium has developed in the province of Granada. Andasol 1 and Andasol 2, the two adjacent sister projects with the same capacity of 50 MW each, are already operating.
The power plants will mainly cover demand peaks in the Spanish grid during the summer months. The high electricity demand is primarily caused by the energy consumption of air conditioners. Each power plant additionally features thermal storage. Full storage reservoirs ensure additional power plant operation for up to eight hours, meaning they can be operated at night as well. The storages are each comprised of two tanks measuring 14 m in height and 36 m in diameter and contain approximately 30,000 tons of liquid salt.
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