September 16, 2008

Los Angeles, CA, USA: SolarReserve Closes $140M in Funding for Solar Thermal Electric Projects

SolarReserve, a developer of utility scale renewable energy solar power plants, has closed a second round of funding totaling $140 million. The additional funds will enable the company to advance its development of more than 5,000 megawatts of utility scale power plants in locations across the globe, each ranging in size from 50MW to 300MW.

The financing was led by the renewable energy private equity group within Citi Alternative Investments, Sustainable Development Investments (SDI), and Good Energies, one of the largest private investors in the solar industry. Other investors include US Renewables Group, the founding investor in SolarReserve, along with PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund (CETF), Nimes Capital, LLC and Credit Suisse.

“Our investment in SolarReserve is part of Citi’s continued commitment to address climate change,” stated Citi’s R. Andrew de Pass, Managing Director and Head of SDI. “The technology backing by United Technologies Corp. and the ability of the system to store energy differentiates SolarReserve from other alternative technologies and has the ability to replace conventional fuel burning power plants.”

“SolarReserve possesses the leading utility scale, solar thermal technology as well as a world class development team to bring this technology to the market,” stated John Breckenridge, Managing Director for Good Energies. “This additional funding provides SolarReserve with the financial resources to aggressively pursue the expanding market for large scale solar energy projects. Good Energies is excited to bring SolarReserve financial support and access to our global renewable energy network.”

SolarReserve is a Santa Monica, California based energy company that holds the exclusive worldwide license to the market leading molten salt power tower solar technology developed by the Rocketdyne division of Hamilton Sundstrand, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. SolarReserve is developing power plants that generate electricity from the sun’s heat. These solar thermal power plants can capture the sun’s thermal energy, store that energy in molten salt and then transform that heat into steam-driven turbines that generate fully dispatchable electricity. The molten salt is heated by concentrating the sun’s energy, via thousands of heliostats (or mirrors), on to a central receiver and is so efficient that the energy can be stored for use during times when direct sunlight is unavailable, allowing for 24-hour-a-day power availability.

“We’re turning the sun into the solution,” said Terry Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer for SolarReserve. “Our facilities are engineered by the same team at Rocketdyne that built the Space Station power systems, the Space Shuttle main engines and the Apollo moon rocket propulsion systems. The molten salt power tower was thoroughly validated by the Department of Energy at the Solar Two pilot plant and it’s ready for worldwide deployment.”

According to Dr. J. Michael McQuade, Senior Vice President, Science & Technology at United Technologies Corp., which is among the largest technology companies in the world: “This technology is indeed proof that we can provide sustainable, clean energy from our world’s most truly renewable source: the sun, and is an exciting example of United Technologies’ commitment to a greener future.”

SolarReserve was formed by US Renewables Group, a private equity firm focused exclusively on renewable energy. SolarReserve now holds the exclusive worldwide license to build state-of-the-art Solar Thermal Electric Generation (STEG) plants that use equipment manufactured and guaranteed by United Technology Corp. subsidiary, Hamilton Sundstrand through its Rocketdyne division.

Further details about: SolarReserve