OHL Industrial commences the construction of the Arenales Solar Thermal Power Plant

The Plant will provide clean electricity to 175,000 people, avoiding the emission of 150,000 tons of CO2

Ecolaire España, a subsidiary of OHL Industrial, has begun the construction, as lead contractor, of the Arenales Solar Thermal Power Plant, a 50 MW STP plant in the city of Morón de la Frontera, Seville. The budget for the project totals €313.5 million (VAT not included).

This STP plant is owned by Arenales Solar PS, which is 49% held by RREEF Infrastructure, 26% by Solar Millennium and 25% by OHL Industrial. Ecolaire España will undertake the engineering, construction and commissioning of the plant and OHL Industrial will be responsible for operation and maintenance.

The commercial operation is planned for late 2013 and it is estimated that the electrical energy produced annually by the Arenales STP plant will provide clean electricity for 175,000 people and save the 150,000 equivalent tons of CO2 that a modern coal power plant would issue.

The Arenales solar park, which will be supplied by Siemens, is comprised of 936 collectors covering a total area of 510,120 m² and will be arranged in six parallel links of 156 collectors connected in series.

The energy storage system, provided by the company Flagsol, increases the annual number of hours of operation at full load to 3,000 h, a key factor in reducing production costs by allowing better plant performance and increased productivity of operation and maintenance staff.

Lastly, the turbine power unit, from General Electric, will be capable of producing 50 MW of electricity, reaching an annual production of 166 GWh/year.