ausra

Areva buys solar-thermal start-up Ausra

France-based Areva, best known for its work in nuclear power, said on Monday it has acquired concentrating solar-power start-up Ausra for an undisclosed price.

The acquisition will expand Areva's business interests in renewable energy, which already include biomass-based power and development of offshore wind, according to a representative. Areva builds equipment for operating power plants and provides construction and maintenance services, but does not sell electricity to utilities directly, she said.

"Ausra will bring to Areva proven technology and an experienced management team. And Areva will bring market and financial strength and experience in construction, operations, and maintenance,&… Read more

Solar-power start-up Ausra looks to sell itself

LOS ANGELES--Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures-backed solar-thermal start-up Ausra is in talks with three potential buyers to sell itself, two sources familiar with the company told Reuters on Friday.

The buyers could take a majority stake or snag the whole company and the discussions are at a "very aggressive level," said one source familiar with the company, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Both sources said the interested companies were global conglomerates in the power generation business but declined to name them. The companies already have various power products, such as steam and gas turbines, … Read more

Financing woes shrink Ausra's big solar plans

Updated at 10:00 a.m. PT with comments from Ausra providing more detail on its strategy.

Because of a lack of financing, solar-technology company Ausra has dropped plans to make massive solar-thermal power plants in favor of smaller, cheaper units.

Ausra President and CEO Bob Fishman told different news outlets this week that the company has been forced to change its business strategy in response to the credit crisis. The company is also laying off staff as part of the reorganization, according to reports.

The change is a clear sign of how the credit crisis and the current structure … Read more

BrightSource Energy signs whopper solar contract with PG&E

BrightSource Energy will build 500 megawatts' worth of solar thermal power plants for Pacific Gas & Electric in California, and the contract contains an option for PG&E to order another 400 megawatts on top of that.

The deal is the largest yet in the solar thermal world when the option is added. PG&E earlier inked a deal with Israel's Solel under which Solel will build 533 megawatts' worth of solar power for the utility. Ausra, an Australian start-up that has moved to the U.S., will build a 177-megawatt plant for PG&E. Ausra … Read more

Solar thermal company Ausra christens huge plant

Solar thermal company Ausra will cut the ribbon on a large factory in anticipation of a construction boom in solar power plants in the Southwest United States.

Flanked by government officials, Ausra executives are scheduled to dedicate a 130,000-square-foot facility capable of turning out enough thermal collectors to generate 200 megawatts every month. That translates into about 70 megawatts of electricity capacity per month, according to the company.

At that rate, the plant will be be able to manufacture enough electricity capacity to power half a million homes per year year at equivalent prices to gas-fired power plants, said … Read more

Al Gore joins Kleiner Perkins to perk up its green push

Former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore has joined venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a partner to concentrate on green technology investments.

To date, Kleiner Perkins has had something of a mixed record when it comes to clean tech. The firm has invested in Miasole, which recently swapped CEOs and has had to delay products. It is also an investor in EEStor, a mysterious supercapacitor company that has delayed its product and is going through some management changes. The firm has also not been part of some of the early, successful IPOs in clean tech … Read more

PG&E links with Ausra for 177 megawatts of solar thermal power

Pacific Gas and Electric has entered into a contract to buy 177 megawatts of power from a solar thermal power plant that will be built by Ausra.

The power plant will be located in San Luis Obispo county in central California and provide, roughly, enough power for 60,000 homes. Ausra has filed applications to build the plant with the California Energy Commission and hopes to have the plant up and generating power in 2010.

This won't be the last solar thermal contract PG&E will sign. PG&E says it plans to get a gigawatt worth of power from solar thermal systems in five years. … Read more

Ausra goes for a gigawatt

Ausra, a solar thermal specialist from Australia, on Thursday said it will try to build solar power plants in the U.S. over the next seven years that collectively will generate a gigawatt worth of power. Three hundred megawatts worth of that capacity is already committed to FPL Group, a utility concentrated in Florida, according to Ausra.

Another likely customer is Pacific Gas & Electric. The California utility has committed to signing contracts for a gigawatt worth of solar thermal power over the next five years. PG&E is talking to a number of solar thermal companies about this, … Read more

A little bit of desert to light up the entire U.S.

DAVIS, Calif.--Ausra CEO Peter Le Lievre says it will only take a little bit of desert to light up the United States.

Ausra has developed technology for converting heat from the sun into electricity. The trick is that it's far more efficient, the company claims, than traditional solar thermal technologies from companies such as Solel and Acciona.

The process works as follows: Water goes into a tube that sits over an array of flat mirrors in the desert. By the time it gets to the end of the tube, the water turns to steam, which then turns a … Read more