About Us

Offices, plants and installations

General

Our Commitment

At Abengoa Solar, we believe that it is time to create a sustainable model of economic development

Our World Today

The science agrees -- climate change is a reality. At Abengoa Solar, we believe that it is our responsibility to develop and apply solutions to solve one of humankind's greatest challenges.

Climate change is intensifying weather extremes, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts and desertification, and is radically changing ecosystems. If we do not develop alternatives to existing patterns of energy use, the consequences will only get worse.

Our World Tomorrow

The International Energy Agency forecasts that in 2030…

• An augment of 36% in CO2 emissions
• An increase of 34% on world energy demand
• That 82% of the primary energy supply will be sourced from fossil fuels

… it is critical to foster the rational use of energy and the adoption of renewable energies to reduce climate change and ensure sustainable development.

The scenario described by the IEA shows greenhouse gas emissions increasing significantly in the next few years. Solar thermal and solar photovoltaics (PV) are proven energy technologies that do not contribute to rising greenhouse gas levels.

Solar thermal and Solar PV show great potential as a key means of addressing climate change. Solar energy technology has progressed greatly in recent years with many installations planned. Progress and innovation will continue to make solar technologies a key feature of future sustainable development.

Abengoa Solar?s Commitment to Solar Energy

• Great Potential

"Covering just a small portion (under 5%) of our hot deserts with solar troughs wouold suffice to satisfy the electrical needs of the entire world."

Kurokawa K.et al.: Energy from the desert: Feasibility of herí largó scale photovoltaic power generation (VLS-PV) systems.

• Commercial Technologies

Solar technologies are proven and mature, providing clean and reliable energy all over the planet.

• A Worldwide Source of Inexhaustible Clean Energy.
  Solar resources are distributed worldwide, from the most arid to the most fertile regions.

• Soon, Solar energy technologies will compete with fossil fuels.
  Past investments by institutions and companies in the development of solar technologies have been driven by the price of oil.
  
  Future investments can be expected to grow rapidly as fossil fuel prices continue to increase due to:
  
      - Reductions in fossil fuel reserves.
      - Penalties for CO2 emission.
  
  As the cost of fossil fuels continues to rise and reserves dwindle, the cost of solar energy will continue to decrease as the technology improves and level of deployment increases. The graph below shows that the cost of solar power will drop below the price of fossil fuels in coming years. Solar thermal heat technologies are already competitive with electricity and oil as a source of heat, and are becoming more competitive with natural gas every day.

There are three main areas of solar technology:

• Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Technology: Solar energy is concentrated and used to produce thermal energy. This thermal energy is then converted to electricity using conventional thermodynamic cycles.
• Solar Heat Technologies: Parabolic trough technology is used to produce heat to replace conventional energy used to heat water and air, to generate steam and to produce air-conditioning.
• Photovoltaic (PV) Technology: Through the use of semiconductor materials and the photoelectric effect, electricity can be produced directly from solar radiation.

Concentrating Solar Power

• Concentrating Solar Power: CSP can be easily integrated into conventional steam or combined cycle plants at low additional cost conventional steam thermal plants
  Electricity from a solar resource is generated using the same thermodynamic cycle as conventional plants. The only difference is the substitution of the boilder for a solar field and the use of solar energy instead of fossil fuels.
• Concentrating Solar Power: Optimum energy to cover peak electricity demands
  Energy delivery from a CSP plant coincides well with electricity demand. Peak electricity demand tends to occur when the sun is most intense. Even in colder climates, summer peaks are signifigantly greater than winter demand because air-conditioning loads are increasing.
• Concentrating Solar Power: Reliable energy delivery using storage and fossil fuel hybridization
  Solar energy plants can deliver power at any time of the day or night when they are combined with thermal energy storage or are hybridized with a backup fossil fuel source.

Photovoltaic

• Photovoltaic: Grid-connected and remote installations
  PV plants can be built as:
     -Grid-connected installations ranging in size from large, utility-scale plants to small
       residential systems
     -Off-grid, distributed installations supplying power to remote locations.
• Photovoltaic: Easy integration with buildings
  PV modules are often mounted on building roofs, utilizing space that would otherwise go unused. With the use of thin film technologies, PV can be integrated into building structure as part of the roof, windows or facade.

Abengoa Solar applies and develops solar technology

Abengoa Solar is a company committed to developing PV, CSP and industrial heat technologies for commercial, industrial and utility applications.

» Our activities

A primary focus of Abengoa Solar is the use of R&D as a means of continuous product improvement in manufacturing, installation and operation. (Abengoa Solar New Technologies )

Links

Download our White Paper of Tower Technology

Download our White Paper of parabolic Trough Technology