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BrightSource Energy

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BrightSource Energy, Inc.
Company typeVenture backed private
IndustrySolar thermal power
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004)
FounderArnold J. Goldman
Headquarters
Oakland, California
,
U.S.
Key people
David Ramm[1] (CEO)(Chairman)
Websitewww.brightsourceenergy.com

BrightSource Energy, Inc. is an Oakland, California based, corporation that designs, builds, finances, and operates utility-scale solar power plants. Greentech Media ranked BrightSource as one of the top 10 greentech startups in the world in 2008.[2]

History

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The former BrightSource Energy solar plant, Coalinga, California

BrightSource was formed with seed capital from VantagePoint Venture Partners. It secured $115 million in additional corporate funding from its Series C round of financing in May 2008, bringing the total the company has raised at that time to over $160 million. Investors include Google.org, BP Alternative Energy, Morgan Stanley, DBL Investors, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Chevron Technology Ventures, Statoil Venture, and Black River.[3] By May 2010, the total amount raised was $337 million.[4]

BrightSource Industries (Israel) Ltd., formerly named Luz II Ltd.,[5] is a wholly owned subsidiary of BrightSource Energy, Inc. Based in Israel, BrightSource Industries is responsible for solar technology development, plant design and engineering.

In March 2008, BrightSource entered into a series of power purchase agreements with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for up to 900 MW of electricity.[6] In February 2009, BrightSource contracted to sell power from seven solar power towers in the Mojave Desert to Southern California Edison (SCE). The plants were to have a combined capacity of 1,300 MW, producing 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours per year. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, BrightSource's 377 MW, 3,900-acre (16 km2) plant opened on February 13, 2014.[7][8][9] The total cost of the Ivanpah project was $2.2 billion. The largest investor in the project was NRG Energy, a power generating company based in Princeton, New Jersey, that contributed $300 million. Siemens supplied instrumentation and control systems as well as steam-turbine generators.

In 2009, BrightSource Energy announced plans to build a 960 MW (1,290,000 hp) solar thermal power plant in Coyote Springs that would be on line by 2012.[10] In 2010, BrightSource hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to begin preparations for a public offering in 2011. Its fourth round of equity financing in May netted $150 million, bringing total equity financing to $330 million to date.[11]

In November 2011, Google announced that they would stop investing in CSP projects due to the rapid price decline of photovoltaics. Google spent $168 million on BrightSource.[12][13] In December 2011, Google and KKR & Co. announced an agreement to invest in four California solar power PV plants with total capacity of 88 megawatts.[14]

In December 2011, The California Energy Commission (CEC) began to review a proposed 750 MW Rio Mesa Solar Project in Riverside County, California. BrightSource Energy Inc. is the developer for this project.[15][16] The project was cancelled in 2013.[17]

In 2012, BrightSource Energy proposed to build the Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System Project near Charleston View, California.[18] The project was withdrawn in 2015[19] due to concerns over the effects on wildlife, groundwater, cultural and historical resources in the area along with "lackluster updates" by BrightSource. In addition, then recent Inyo County planning policy changes would prevent large solar thermal plants being built in the county.[20][21]

Shift to overseas projects

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In September 2014, BrightSource ended its upcoming California projects, withdrawing its application for a solar thermal power plant at Palen, near Riverside. Biologists, Native American groups, and advocates for Joshua Tree National Park were concerned that the bright light and heat of the Palen project's heliostats would prove fatal for birds. The company shifted its focus to overseas projects.[22] In November 2014, Bright Source announced a joint venture with Shanghai Electric to build "utility scale solar thermal projects," and proposed the "construction of two 135 megawatt (MW) CSP plants as part of the Qinghai Delingha Solar Thermal Power Generation Project."[23]

In March 2016, it was confirmed that BrightSource is supplying technology to Ashalim Power Station in the Negev Desert of Israel.[24]

In September 2016, BrightSource signed a deal to sell its Ivanpah solar farm technology to a Chinese project owned by a state-run energy company.[25]

Arnold Goldman, the founder of BrightSource, died in 2017.[26]

In 2020 it was reported that the main telephone number of BrightSource was directed to voicemail and that the most recent announcement on the website was from 2017.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BrightSource names David Ramm as New CEO". Brightsourceenergy.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Greentech Media's Top Ten Startups". Greentech Media. 2008-04-17. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  3. ^ "BrightSource Energy Exceeds $115 million in Latest Round of Funding" (PDF). BrightSource Energy. 2008-05-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ "BrightSource Energy". pitchbook. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Stocks". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ^ "BrightSource Energy signs whopper solar contract with PG&E". CNET News. 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  7. ^ Revkin, Andrew C. (February 11, 2009). "California Utility Looks to Mojave Desert Project for Solar Power". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  8. ^ "Agreement for 1,300 Megawatts of Clean and Reliable Solar Thermal Power". Southern California Edison (SCE). February 11, 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  9. ^ "BrightSource Energy and Southern California Edison (SCE) Power Purchasing Agreement FAQs" (PDF). BrightSource & SCE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  10. ^ Tavares, Stephanie (December 23, 2009). "Vision for desert solar power plant expands". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  11. ^ By Iris Kuo, VentureBeat. "Brightsource quietly moving towards IPO in 2011." Access date September 22, 2010.
  12. ^ Google cans concentrated solar power project Reve, 24 Nov 2011. Accessed: 25 Nov 2011.
  13. ^ Marc Roca and Ehren Goossens (Dec 20, 2011). "BP Deems Solar Unprofitable, Exiting Business After 40 Years". Bloomberg.
  14. ^ "Google & KKR Partner to Acquire Portfolio of Solar PV Projects in California from Recurrent Energy". KKR. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  15. ^ States News Service, Power Engineering. "ENERGY COMMISSION BEGINS REVIEW FOR RIO MESA SOLAR ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITY." 12/15/2011. Retrieved 12/16/2011.
  16. ^ California Energy Commission, SolarServer. "Concentrating solar power: CEC to begin review of 750 MW Rio Mesa project Archived June 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine." 12/15/2011. Retrieved 12/16/2011.
  17. ^ Clarke, Chris (July 3, 2013). "Another Large Solar Power Project Canceled in California". ReWire. KCET. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  18. ^ "Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System". basinandrangewatch.org. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  19. ^ "Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System". California Energy Commission. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020.
  20. ^ Clarke, Chris (April 17, 2015). "Agency Staff Urge End to Desert Solar Project". KCET. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  21. ^ Clarke, Chris (May 29, 2015). "Company To Withdraw Proposed Solar Tower Project in Inyo County". Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  22. ^ Hull, Dana (2014-09-30). "BrightSource Energy looks abroad". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  23. ^ Hull, Dana (2014-11-10). "BrightSource's China deal — with storage!". SiliconBeat. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  24. ^ "BrightSource Launches Next Generation Solar Field Technologies". businesswire.com. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  25. ^ Fehrenbacher, Katie (September 27, 2016). "China to Build Solar Mirror Farm Using Oakland Company's Technology". Fortune. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  26. ^ Sinclair, Yedidya (June 2, 2017). "Israeli-American energy-tech pioneer Arnold Goldman dies". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  27. ^ Deign, Jason (January 20, 2020). "America's Concentrated Solar Power Companies Have All but Disappeared". Greentech Media. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
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