CSP World

Ener-t International, the Israel based provider of Concentrated Solar Thermal (CSP) power plants, has been awarded for the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the establishment of the National CSP R&D center at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

The consortium leading the project, comprising Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IITJ); Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL); and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has selecter Ener-t in a competitive tender announced later 2012.

According to the tender text "The experimental plant will be designed for continuous power generation in as small a size as is feasible (typically KWe range) through steam using a turbine. Steam will be generated from the heat collected by the solar fields (direct or through thermal storage). Scalability issues pertaining to the best combination of CSP technologies, storage concepts & materials shall also be kept under consideration so that the next stage of this project of achieving LCOE on continuous basis in a MWe level plant can be judiciously taken up".

“We won this contract after an aggressive international tender. The center is planned to open in 2015 with the latest CSP technologies, and will support India in its program to become world leader in CSP,” says Yehuda Harats, Ener-t’s Founder and Chairman.

This is the second project for Ener-t in India. The company is currently working on a 50 MW parabolic trough plant in Rajasthan as a member of the EPC consortium, where it has provided the technology, the engineering design, and the supply of the solar field for the project which utilizes Ener-t's own parabolic trough collector model ES-3.5.

“25 years ago, working at Luz, our people played key roles in the technology development and construction of the largest solar thermal energy generating facility in the world, which is successfully operating still today – the 354 megawatts Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in California’s Mojave Desert,” says Harats, who at the time served as the Executive VP of Luz, and pioneered the solar field core technology.

So, how is Ener-t able to stand up against the declining tariffs for renewable power and win major solar projects? “Thanks to our many years of experience, proven, bankable and innovative technologies and competitive pricing, we bring customers an attractive offering,” says Harats. The company has developed a next generation CSP Parabolic Trough technology. “We achieved annual efficiency of 20%, together with a 30% capacity utilization factor (CUF), a world record that makes our projects profitable even at lower tariffs, and easier to finance,” says Harats.

Ener-t International is a project developer, technology provider and EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contractor of concentrated solar thermal power plants (CSP). Ener-t offers complete EPC services, including the supply of the solar field, using its patented high efficient, proven and bankable technology.

The company benefits from the experience of the CSP pioneers that built the SEGS plants in Caifornia back in the 80's. Since 1980, key members of Ener-t led the research and development of four generations of parabolic trough technology used in CSP project. Ener-t team designed the collector structures, the cermet based evacuated heat receivers including the production line used for all SEGS projects.

More recently, Ener-t has been involved in three 50 MW projects in Spain.