AREVA Solar, an AREVA subsidiary, has won a contract by the Indian group Reliance Power Limited to build a 250MW concentrated solar power (CSP installation in India, which will become the largest in all of Asia. The project will help advance India’s goal of adding 20,000MW of solar energy by 2022 and will result in the avoidance of approximately 557,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year compared to a similar sized coalfired power plant.
As per the contract, AREVA will build two 125MW CSP plants using its Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology and will provide construction management services for the project. The first phase of the project is under construction, with a target commercial operation date of May 2013. The solar power plants will be located in Rajasthan.
In Australia, AREVA Solar was awarded a contract to build a 44MW solar thermal addition to the coal-fired Kogan Creek power station, and its energy consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for a 250MW CLFR power plant under Australia’s Solar Flagships Program. And in the USA, AREVA Solar recently announced a partnership with Tucson Electric Power on a solar augmentation project in Arizona.