Oct 24 2008

Ausra's Solar Spotlight Shines on Bakersfield

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall

Bakersfield, California, sometimes called "the city that oil built," yesterday celebrated its commitment to what may well become the 21st century's leading rival to fossil-fuel energy: solar power.

At a Bakersfield ceremony attended by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and PG&E Chairman, CEO and President Peter Darbee, Palo Alto-based Ausra, Inc. unveiled the first solar thermal energy plant built in California in nearly 20 years.

The 5-megawatt (MW) Kimberlina demonstration plant, with its thousand-foot long mirrors, uses the same core technology that Ausra plans to install a couple of years from now in a 177-MW plant east of San Luis Obispo that will serve tens of thousands of PG&E customers.

Ausra's Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar technology focuses heat from the sun's rays to create steam to power steam turbine generators, much like traditional power plants, but without use of fossil fuels or harmful emissions.

PG&E's Darbee called the opening of the Kimberlina plant "an important step on the path to commercialization of this new technology."

He also underscored the importance of making continued investments in clean energy projects, despite the nation's difficult economic straits, in order to fight the enormous challenge of climate change.

"I want to restate our commitment as PG&E . . . that we will not take our eye off the ball, that we will continue to pursue energy efficiency, we will continue to pursue demand management, we will continue to pursue renewables," Darbee said.

Commenting on the financial risks that could delay new investments in clean energy projects, Darbee added, "PG&E stands ready, as we were before, to take on the challenge of financing renewables, to work with people collaboratively to move renewable generation forward."

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