GE Energy has entered into an investment and licensing agreement with Burbank, Calif.-based eSolar, a provider of tower-based concentrating solar power technology.
According to the companies, this agreement enables GE to deploy integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) technology to customers worldwide. MetCap Energy Investments, a Turkish investor and developer of power projects, plans to collaborate with GE in making this investment.
Under the agreement, GE will license and incorporate eSolar technology into its offers of cost-effective ISCC and stand-alone solar thermal power plants. The companies expect the transaction, which will establish GE as a minority shareholder, to close within a month. Financial terms are not being disclosed.
An ISCC project combines a combined-cycle system including a gas turbine, steam turbine, generators and a heat-recovery steam generator, with a field of mirrors that focus sunlight on a tower to produce high-temperature steam, the companies explain. Steam generated in the solar field is fed into the water-steam cycle of the combined-cycle plant, increasing the power of the steam turbine and creating extra megawatts of electricity without using any additional natural gas.
eSolar's technology will be integrated with GE's recently introduced FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle technology.