AREVA Solar, a subsidiary of Paris-based AREVA, has been awarded a contract to construct a 250-megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power (CSP (News - Alert)) installation in Rajasthan, an area in northwest India that encompasses most of the Great Indian Desert. The installation will be one of the largest in all of Asia.

The project, initiated by Reliance Power Limited, which is based in Navi Mumbai, India, will help advance the nation’s goal of adding 20,000 MW of solar energy by 2022 and will result in the avoidance of approximately 557,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year compared to a similar sized coal-fired power plant.Under the contract, AREVA will build two 125-MW CSP plants and will provide construction management services for the project. The first phase of the project already is underway, with a target commercial operation date of May 2013.

Concentrated solar power solutions use lenses or mirrors to direct sunlight onto a small surface. In the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) method of CSP that AREVA Solar employs, the sun’s heat first reflects off modular,flat mirrors and then is focused upon long, elevated "receivers," which comprise a system of boiler tubes through which water flows. The concentrated sunlightboils the water in the tubes—producing saturated and superheated solar steam that drives steam turbines, thereby generating electricity.

JP Chalasani, CEO of Reliance Power, stated, “Reliance Power is proud to be a leader in India’s clean energy future. We look forward to working with AREVA Solar in helping meet India’s clean energy goals through this project.”AREVA CEO Luc Oursel stated: “AREVA is delighted to help deliver on the promise of India’s progressive solar energy goals and to advance Reliance’s bold vision for a global clean energy portfolio. We will leverage our best-in-class experience to help make India and Reliance global solar industry leaders. Following our success in the French wind offshore sector, this contract reinforces the AREVA strategy in renewable energies.”The Reliance contract solidifies AREVA Solar’s position as a leading global supplier of CSP solutions for large-scale standalone power plants, power augmentation of fossil-fired power plants, and solar hybrid applications, and follows on a series of successes.

In Australia, AREVA Solar was awarded a contract to build a 44 MW solar thermal addition to the coal-fired Kogan Creek power station, and its energy consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for a 250 MW CLFR power plant under Australia’s Solar Flagships Program. And in the U.S., AREVA Solar recently announced a partnership with Tucson Electric Power on a solar augmentation project in Arizona.In total, AREVA Solar currently has more than 500 MW of CSP projects in operation, under construction, or in advanced development, making AREVA one the fastest-growing CSP technology providers.