GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, and KGAL announced that they are jointly investing €111.1 million in a 50MW parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant that uses molten salt energy storage in Torre de Miguel Sesmero, Badajoz, Spain. The two companies will invest structured equity in Extresol II, which was developed by Spain’s ACS. Further financial details surrounding the investment were not disclosed.
“This transaction complements our growing European renewables portfolio and brings with it a different technology – concentrated solar power with salt storage – working with strong local partners,” said Andrew Marsden, a managing director and European leader at GE Energy Financial Services. “Such investments also support ecomagination, GE’s business strategy to create value for customers by solving energy, efficiency and water challenges.”
Extresol II was completed by ACS’s subsidiary Cobra in December 2010. The investment represents GE Energy Financial Services’ first in a CPV power plant using molten salt storage.
“Our investment in the Extresol II solar thermal power plant expands our renewable energy portfolio into a new asset class and is a natural expansion of previous investments in photovoltaic and wind power plants,” said Dr. Klaus Wolf, managing director of KGAL. “We now have more than €1.5 billion in our renewable energy portfolio, with this investment marking another milestone in the history of KGAL’s infrastructure investing. We are pleased to team up with GE Energy Financial Services and retain ACS as a reliable partner and service provider to the project. It underpins the long-term focus and sustainability of our investment approach.”
