AORA Solar has launched Europe's first gas turbine solar thermal power station in Almeria, Spain. The space-efficient power station is located on half an acre of land in Platforma Solar Almeria (PSA), the world's largest and most exclusive science park dedicated solely to the research and development of solar-based power-generating systems.

Among the dignitaries in attendance at the AORA launch were representatives from the Spanish and Israeli governments, including Israeli Ambassador to Spain, Alon Bar, and delegations of businesspeople from Spain, Mexico and the United States interested in purchasing AORA's Tulip system.

Highlights of the Tulip system in Almeria:

+ The turbine and the associated generator convert thermal energy into electric power

+ In addition to producing electricity, the Almeria plant produces 170 kW of heat as a byproduct, which will be used to power a desalination plant

+ Tulip is designed to require less land and very little water while generating more usable power and heat compared to other solar energy systems

+ Tulip's revolutionary hybrid approach enables the system to run not only on solar radiation, but also on almost any alternative fuel, including biogas, biodiesel and natural gas

+ Tulip can operate on a variety of modes - from solar-only mode, where electricity is supplied from ample sunlight, to hybrid-mode, where fuel helps generate full power when sunlight is insufficient, such as when it is cloudy, to fuel-only mode during night hours or heavily overcast periods, thereby guaranteeing an uninterrupted power supply 24 hours a day

Launch Event Quotes
Alon Bar - Israel's Ambassador to Spain: "This launch in Almeria Spain sees the implementation of a collaboration with huge potential between Spain and Israel. With Israel's ability to generate initiative and innovation, and Spain's interest in renewable energy, combined with the Spain's economic necessity to collaborate with innovative technologies that they don't necessarily have here, it creates an ideal situation for Israeli companies like AORA to thrive in this country. The basis for our collaboration is huge, and I think we are at a point of departure for many projects like this, where Israeli technology can be implemented with the collaboration of Spanish companies introduced in Spain and can export to additional countries as well."

Diego Martinez - Director of the PSA: "The PSA is the Spanish R and D center for CSP technology, and our work for 30 years has been to cooperate in the deployment of CSP technology. Our cooperation with AORA Solar is a demonstration of technology that really works. We will help support the company to improve and find solutions to make use of the heat waste from the plant. We have a research line for water desalination and solar cooling for buildings, so we can study options here with them."

Zev Rosenzweig - CEO, AORA Solar: "The AORA Tulip system has capabilities that allow it to function in such unique ways that are both efficient and game-changing. We can generate electricity 24 hours a day, and build out a customer solution in a modular fashion, protecting the upfront investment while also providing energy within several months of groundbreaking."

Chaim Dotan - AORA Tulip Architect: "The tower in the Tulip system integrates with the environment using recyclable materials and forms that are friends to the natural surroundings. The tower structures in the shape of flowers are not more expensive, due to prefabrication of steel sections. We have created beauty without the expense.

Dr. Pinchas Doron - CTO, AORA Solar: "The Aora Tulip system offers a unique combination of features - hybrid with the ability to provide dispatchable power 24 hours a day, and the ability to run smoothly with the same power output whether it is running fully solar, partly solar or fuel-only. It is extremely flexible in terms of fuel augmentation that can be used, land use and operational modes of the system. Altogether, it offers a very efficient and effective solution to the client."