Solel Sells $250M of Solar Gear to Spanish capability Companies

While Solel is still working to deliver 553 megawatts of solar thermal potential to PG&E in the American Southwest, the Israeli startup is expanding its sales in Spain. Solel today announced its without largest sale of solar receivers — 190,000 thermal receiver systems capable of producing 400 megawatts of capability — to Madrid-based Ibereolica Solar S.L. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Solel says that that new deal plus its sale of 70,000 receiver systems earlier that month to a Spanish consortium represent $250 million in business for the startup. Not poor for the month of May.

Solel’s Spanish deals are notably different from its stateside operations. While Solel is building out full potential plants and selling ability in the Southwest (as it is doing with PG&E), in Spain it sells its parabolic trough technology to potential plant developers — a far less risky business model for Solel. Building ability plants requires a lengthy permitting process and a huge upfront cost, both difficult propositions for a startup. PG&E has told us it wants

to own its own solar potential plants, so perhaps it could work with Solel to buy the equipment and next finance its own plant construction.

Today’s deal is the latest in Solel’s rapidly expanding Spanish business. At the start of the year Solel signed a deal to sell 46,000 receivers to Aries Solar Termoelectrica, S.L. , bringing Solel’s total commitment in 2008 in Spain to 306,000 solar thermal systems for 650 megawatts in 11 separate 50 megawatt ability plants.

To meet the huge demand, Solel last month announced plans to build a $140 million manufacturing facility in Spain, scheduled to start production in 2009. To moment, Solel says 100,000 of its UVAC 2008 parabolic solar receivers have been installed in the United States, Spain and Israel. The Spanish contracts represent a huge jump in production demand by the course of the next year.

The startup secured $105 million in financing from Ecofin Limited at the start of the year to assist with its expansion. Via earth2tech