http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-10/solar-millennium-in-talks-to-sell-equipment-to-u-s-coal-plant-operators.htmlSolar Millennium AG, the German maker of solar-energy systems, is holding talks with U.S. operators of coal-fired power plants to sell them equipment for reducing fuel use, management board member Henner Gladen said.
The potential buyers, based in the southwest, would install its concentrated solar devices next to their power stations, he said in an interview. Gladen declined to estimate the size of deals or name companies in the talks.
“They are making their calculations on the price of coal for the next few years and deciding if it will be cheaper to invest in a solar field,” said Gladen, who’s also chief technology officer. The company’s 484-megawatt solar project approved in July by the state of California may cost $3 billion to build, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimate.
Solar Millennium develops and produces parabolic collectors that concentrate sunlight using arrays of mirrors to make steam and turn electric turbines. The U.S. southwest has some of the world’s highest solar radiation levels, and about nine concentrated solar stations have operated there since the 1980s.
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