Abengoa Solar facts for kids
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| Industry | Solar power |
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Global |
| Parent | Abengoa |
Abengoa Solar, once known as Solúcar Energía, was a company focused on solar power. It was part of a larger group called Abengoa. The company's main job was to design, build, and run power plants that use energy from the sun.
They used different ways to capture sunlight. These included photovoltaics (PV), which turn sunlight directly into electricity. They also used concentrated solar thermal (CSP) technology. This method uses mirrors to focus the sun's rays to create heat, which then makes electricity. In January 2023, Abengoa Solar was sold to Rioglass Solar Holding.
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Innovation at Abengoa Solar
Investing in New Ideas
Abengoa Solar put a lot of money into research and development (R&D). This means they invested in finding new and better ways to use solar energy. For example, in 2011, they invested over 42.4 million euros in R&D. Since 2007, their total investment in new ideas was more than 150 million euros.
Protecting Inventions
It's very important to protect new inventions. Abengoa Solar made sure to legally protect their new ideas and technologies. They had special rights to many important inventions. By May 2012, they had registered 115 patent applications for their CSP and PV technologies. This helped them keep their new ideas safe.
Solar Power Towers
Abengoa Solar owned Europe's first power plant that used a special technology called a solar power tower. This plant is known as the PS10 Solar Power Plant. It can produce 11 MW of electricity.
A solar power tower is a type of concentrated solar thermal plant. It uses many mirrors, called heliostats, to reflect sunlight onto a tall tower. The concentrated sunlight heats a fluid in the tower, which then creates steam to power a turbine and make electricity. The PS10 plant is located in Spain.
Projects Using Their Technology
- Solana Generating Station, Arizona
See also
In Spanish: Abengoa Solar para niños
- Solar power in Spain
- Renewable energy in the European Union
- Energy policy of the European Union
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