Solel opens solar reflector plant in Finland

Beit Shemesh, Israel-based Solel Solar Systems announced the opening of a solar reflector factory in Finland today. The $9 million plant was designed and constructed by Finland's Glaston, a glass processing technology company.

The new factory will produce parabolic solar reflectors for Solel's solar thermal projects. The company said the factory will give it better control over the capacity, quality and price of its solar power technology.

"By producing our next generation of parabolic solar reflectors, this new factory will help us advance our SunField LP solar fields, in Spain and around the world, and provide our customers with guaranteed performance," said Avi Brenmiller, president and CEO of Solel.

Last year, San Francisco's PG&E (NYSE: PCG) made a deal to buy 553 megawatts of solar power from Solel's planned Mojave Solar Park (see Solel's new 553 MW solar thermal plant). That project is expected to deliver enough power to supply 400,000 homes in northern and central California when it's fully operational.

Solel raised $105 million in funding from London investment manager Ecofin in January (see Solel takes in $105M for solar thermal). At the time, the companies said Solel would have an additional round of funding, after which Ecofin would hold a "very significant minority stake" in Solel.

The new Finland factory is in Akaa, about 200 kilometers north of Helsinki. It has the capacity to produce 240,000 parabolic solar reflectors a year, which Solel said is enough to power a 50 MW solar thermal plant. Operations at the factory will begin this month.