New AORA 'Power Flower' CSP station now in full bloom

Yavne, Israel-based AORA has launched the world’s first hybrid solar thermal gas turbine power station. The company said the station, named “Power Flower,” provides eco-friendly power 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the first time at a local level or for large-area installations.

AORA, which develops ultra-high temperature concentrating solar power technology, unveiled the power station in southern Israel’s Kibbutz Samar.

Named after the yellow tulip design created by architect Haim Dotan for the plant’s solar tower, the station consists of a field of 30 tracking mirrors situated on half an acre. The power module is expected to supply 100 kilowatt-hours of power to the national grid, or enough to sustain approximately 70 households, according to the company.

The plant was originally intended to connect with the grid by the end of March, after being approved by Israel's National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (see Israel to get first solar thermal project and Sunday Energy forges new ground in Israel with Ormat).

Each of the station's 30 mirrors track the sun and reflect its rays toward the top of a 30-meter tower that houses a solar receiver along with a 100 kW gas turbine. Using the sun’s energy to heat the air to 1,000 degrees Celsius, the receiver directs the energy to the turbine. The turbine then converts the thermal energy into electric power.

AORA’s hybrid approach allows the system to run on solar radiation, or when sunlight is insufficient, on alternative fuels such as biogas, biodiesel and natural gas. The company, a subsidiary of the Edig Group, first came out of stealth with its 24-hour power source in February (see Israeli startup grabs $5M for distributed solar thermal).

Chile-based CAM, an integrated energy solutions company, also signed an agreement with AORA to exclusively market, distribute and construct the technology in Chile. Melbourne’s GreenEarth Energy signed a similar agreement for Australia, while Spanish company AORA SL signed a memorandum of understanding to sell the technology in Spain and Portugal.