By definition, they are a single point of failure risk for the entire plant,” Wood said. “The problem is that to achieve efficiencies of scale, the towers are typically over 700 ft tall, have thousands of pounds of serviceable equipment at the top, and they’re subject to significant thermal process shocks. That tests the operator’s ability to automate the process to adapt to changing conditions and keep the machinery running in harsh climates where sand can damage moving parts and cloud reflective surfaces.Īnd in most cases, the operation depends on a single tower, said Vast’s CEO, Craig Wood, during a post-announcement briefing. Each of the thousands parabolic-shaped mirrors, known as heliostats, must track the sun to ensure the beam of reflected light remains aimed at the receiver gathering energy from the array. The downside of CSP is there are so many moving parts. While CSP companies have built more than 100 concentrated solar facilities around the world, it has been surpassed by PV arrays that are simpler and cheaper to build and operate. Its history dates back to picking up the remains of the failed company that built the first such plant in the 1980s, according to a story in Scientific American. This sort of solar has been around for decades, and Nabors is not the first oil industry company to invest in one.Ĭhevron Technology Ventures was an early backer of a competitor, Brightsource Energy, which is still in the business. The heat from the molten salt can be used to generate steam to drive turbines or provide heat to companies ranging from chemical makers to food processers. Unlike photovoltaic (PV) panels that directly generate electricity, CSP uses arrays of mirrors to focus sunlight on a receiver in a tower that is commonly used to heat molten salt. Vast needs the $351 million it is raising from the deal to do its first commercial-scale projects after more than a decade of developing and field testing its version of concentrated solar power (CSP) generation and storage. The final value will depend on whether current investors choose to cash out or take shares, according to the announcement from Vast. The estimated value of the new company will range from $305–586 million, with Nabors owning 8% and Vast shareholders, 38%, said Guillermo Sierra, a Nabors vice president in charge of energy transition initiatives. When this deal closes, that corporation will be called Vast. Vast is merging with a company on the New York Stock Exchange created by Nabors to raise money to buy an unspecified energy technology company. Nabors has acquired Vast Technologies in a deal for the Australian solar company that is valued at up to $586 million, but this is not your basic solar or takeover deal.
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