Alba Nova 1, a 12 MW demonstration plant located in Corsica, will be the first and largest single operating solar thermal power plant in France.
Solar Euromed, a leading Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) player from France, is announcing today to have successfully passed a major milestone of its development plan.
The award of a construction permit by the French State for the first utility-scale concentrated solar power plant to be implemented in France. This permit is the first to be granted for the realization of a CSP plant in France.
Solar Euromed’s project, called "Alba Nova 1" and located in Corsica, was selected by French authorities to be the largest single solar thermal power plant operating in France totalling 12 MW, equivalent of the consumption of 10 000 inhabitants and preventing the release of 15,000 tons of CO2.
"The award by French authorities of this construction permit is a critical milestone for the realization of Alba Nova 1 and sets a precedent for the development of innovative CSP technologies in France, in anticipation of a massive deployment in sunny regions of the world such as in Morocco, which recently launched its 2000 MW solar plan" indicated Mr. Marc Benmarraze, Founder and CEO of Solar Euromed, and early advocate of CSP in France.
Asked about the future development of Solar Euromed, he added: "The first phase of Alba Nova 1 and four innovative projects on CSP technology were declared eligible a few weeks ago to receive funding from a 1,35 bn "Investissements d’Avenir" fund introduced by the French Government to support emerging green technologies. In addition, a tender for the realization of solar power plants in France that explicitly makes a difference between solar thermal and photovoltaics technologies will be released in the coming days.
Lastly, the inauguration of our EU-funded CSP pilot plant "Augustin Fresnel 1" located in the French Pyreneans is set to happen by the end of Summer 2011." Thanks to a strong technology portfolio and a thriving project pipeline, Solar Euromed is now working on a capital increase of approx. 20 millions Euros, expected to be completed in the Fall 2011, to prepare the deployment of Solar Euromed’s CSP technologies in international markets.
We are also very proud to inaugurate at the end of Summer 2011 our EU-funded CSP pilot plant "Augustin Fresnel 1" located in the Pyreneans at CNRS PROMES’s Odeillo platform. We expect to see many of you at this event, that will be followed by a substancial capital increase of our corporate structure to support the deployment of our technologies in international markets.
As early advocates of CSP in France, we are excited to see this increasing interest in CSP in our country supporting the overall development of the European Solar Thermal industry.
