Solar thermal company Ausra has scaled back its ambitions for
multi-megawatt, utility-scale installations, stating that it now doubts
the viability of such large projects, as a result of tight finance
markets, according to an article in The Mercury News.
Robert Fishman, Ausra’s chairman, president and CEO, said told the
newspapre: "What a lot of people thought when they went out and signed
500- or 900-megawatt power-purchase agreements was that it was easy to
go from a 1-megawatt demo plant to a 900-megawatt project. That’s
simply not reality. The finance market will not support it."
The Palo Alto company now plans to make smaller
energy-generation plants and sell its technology and equipment to
utilities and other companies.
Fishman said Ausra plans to complete a planned 177-MW project for Pacific Gas & Electric. Last year Ausra opened a demonstration plant and a factory in Las Vegas.
Read full coverage by The Mercury News at the link below.