CSP World

According to Spanish news agency EFE, Termosolar Alcázar, a joint-venture of US' SolarReserve and Spain's Preneal to build a 50 MW Concentrated Solar Power plant, has announced to land owners it will not build the plant.

The plant, to be located in Alcázar de San Juan, in center Spain, was awarded in a special purpose tender for experimental projects back in 2010, with certain controversy over the bidding process. A Wikileaks' wire reported a meeting between then US Ambassador Alan Solomont and Spain's Minister of Industry, Miguel Sebastián, asking about the project. See here for more info.

The EFE report says that the company has confirmed to the land owners the decision. One of the land owners has told the agency that the reason for the withdrawal was "the continuous changes in regulatory framework enacted by Spain's government regarding the enlectricity sector leading to a lack of confidence for the financial entities".

The proposed 50 MW Termosolar Alcazar CSO plant was expected to be a power tower (central receiver) plant using molten salt as heat transfer fluid and energy storage medium, similar but smaller to the Crescent Dunes plant being built in the US by SolarReserve.

The decision was announced to land owners in a meeting at the Town Hall in Alcázar de San Juan, where officials from Preneal said "it was materially impossible to continue the project", according to EFE.