Friday, February 22, 2008; Posted: 01:44 PM
Dedication Brought Together People Who Personify the Power of Historic Achievement
Today, ACCIONA demonstrated its significant commitment to being one of the world's leaders in renewable energy in its formal dedication of Nevada Solar One, the company's 64MW concentrating solar power plant based in Boulder City, Nevada. At a major gathering there, leading scientists, environmentalists, federal and state public officials, and key industry executives, celebrated the viability of commercial-scale concentrating solar power production in the United States, and the success of the world's largest concentrating solar power plant to be built in more than 16 years. The dedication ceremony focused on Nevada Solar One's ability to deliver a proven, economical and commercially practical solar energy solution, and drew attention to the new reality that this technology can be a major and sustainable source of clean energy in the Southwestern United States. In recognition of the historic achievement of Nevada Solar One in changing perceptions about solar energy in the United States, individuals such as Dr. Sally Ride and Steve Wozniak who "have changed the course of history," also participated in the dedication.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080222/DC14826 )
Constructed on a lifetime of research and development, Nevada Solar One showcases ACCIONA's revolutionary concentrating solar power technology and bolster's Nevada's position as the largest per capita producer of solar power in the country. Spread over 400 desert acres, the Nevada Solar One plant uses a parabolic trough design that employs 182,000 curved mirrors, which track and concentrate the sun's rays in a process that creates clean energy for more than 14,000 homes in Nevada. The parabolic trough technology used in ACCIONA's Nevada Solar One plant represents a major renewable energy success story of the past two decades, and has the potential to compete directly with conventional fossil fuel powered technologies.
"Nevada Solar One represents our bid to excel in new technologies to produce clean and sustainable energy, with an emphasis on economic viability, technological competence and the capacity to be replicated on a large scale in locations around the world," noted Jose Manuel Entrecanales, Chairman and CEO of ACCIONA. "Three years ago, we launched this project in Nevada because of the existing solar resources and the capacity to provide a significant portion of the electricity consumed by a city like Las Vegas in the hours of peak demand. We also chose Nevada for the outstanding commitment of this state to the development of sources of renewable energy."
ACCIONA aims to reduce the world's CO2 emissions by 220 million tons in the next 23 years. This is a full one percent of the 18.4 billion tons needed from the world's power production industry by the 2030 deadline set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nevada Solar One is an important part of ACCIONA's plan to meet that goal.
Speaking at the dedication via a video taped message, Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, noted the importance of ACCIONA's role in addressing global warming and climate change. Also, speaking at the dedication was Michael Yackira, CEO, Nevada Power/Sierra Pacific Resources, which has a long-term partnership agreement with Nevada Solar One and distributes the solar energy to homes in the region. Ed Begley, Jr. was the event moderator.
Peter Duprey, CEO, ACCIONA Energy North America and Gilbert Cohen, Senior Vice President of ACCIONA Solar Power spoke about the significance of the plant, not only for the industry but the benefit of the region. Mr. Duprey noted, "Nevada Solar One demonstrates that solar power can be a future energy source in the Southwest United States, providing clean power, generating new jobs and fueling our economy in new dynamic ways. We expect Nevada Solar One to be just the beginning of a long term commitment to expand the solar industry in the United States."
In a press conference following the event, Alberto de Miguel, ACCIONA Energy's Executive Director of Corporate Development and Strategy discussed the company's plans to continue expanding its renewable portfolio in the United States. "We see a tremendous opportunity here in the United States," said Mr. de Miguel. "This country has the natural resources, the technical expertise and the entrepreneurial drive to lead the clean technology revolution."
About ACCIONA
ACCIONA is one of Spain's largest corporations, with activities in more than thirty countries on five continents with significant projects in renewable energies, infrastructures, and eco-efficient buildings, water resources, urban and environmental services, amongst others. It has a workforce of more than 38,000 worldwide and is quoted on the IBEX-35 (ANA.MC) index in Spain with a capitalization of more than US$16 billion.
SOURCE ACCIONA
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