Ausra, Inc., a provider of large-scale solar thermal energy systems for industrial processes and utility electricity generation, has secured $60.6 million in its latest preferred equity financing.
Investors in this closing were led by KERN Partners of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and also included Generation Investment Management, based in London, England; Starfish Ventures of Melbourne, Australia; and Ausra’s founding investors Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Proceeds from Ausra’s financing will fund the company’s research and
product development and commercial activities, including the completion
of its 5-megawatt (MW) Kimberlina solar thermal power project near
Bakersfield, California–the first power plant in North America to
incorporate Ausra’s core technology, the Compact Linear Fresnel
Reflector (CLFR) solar collector and steam generation system.
CLFR technology has significant advantages for its customers in cost, scalability, zero emissions and land-use efficiency. The company’s first commercial CLFR project, located in Australia, is currently under expansion. That facility will augment power production at an adjacent conventional power station later this quarter. Ausra is also developing a 177-MW CLFR power plant for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in central California.
In late June, Ausra began production of a new reflector line at its first North American manufacturing and distribution center in Las Vegas, Nev. This highly automated manufacturing and distribution center will supply the reflectors, absorber tubes and other key components of Ausra’s and its customers’ solar thermal power plants in the rapidly growing Southwestern solar power industry. Ausra’s manufacturing facility has supplied all of the solar reflectors for the company’s Kimberlina solar thermal power facility.
About Ausra, Inc.
Ausra delivers energy from the sun. The company provides solar power, steam and energy systems for industrial processes and utility-scale electricity generation. The company is a leader in solar thermal energy design, development and manufacturing, and is committed to serving the global energy needs of its customers in a dependable, market-competitive and environmentally responsible manner. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Ausra is a privately held company with operations in the United States and Australia.
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All power sources have dwaabrcks. The two you mention, like nuclear, are relatively clean, which is a plus.Hydro is very cheap for the amount of energy we get, but our rivers are basically all dammed up already there isn’t a lot more hydropower we can get.Solar is one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity on a utility scale, but could be the cheapest way to generate electricity on a homeowner scale, at least for many urban homes. Unless one has a stream running through their property to run a water wheel, or strong steady wind, the other choices for getting power are using a gas- or oil-powered generator, or buying retail electricity from the grid. The generator will cost more per kWh over the life of the system, and the grid electricity could be more or less expensive, depending on where one lives. At the moment, the grid is usually cheaper, but not in all parts of the country.