No. 128: Merger between solar power generation and thermal power generation (August 10, 2010)

JGC Corp., one of Japan’s leading engineering companies, will enter the market of the generation plant that merges solar power generation with thermal power generation in alliance with a venture company in the U.S., a mirror manufacturer in Germany, and a structural design company in Germany. The four companies reached an agreement and signed a memorandum to build a consortium. The new-type plant combines solar heat with surplus heat of thermal power generation and accumulates the steam created by thermal power and solar heat to run turbines. It is more stable in generation than a photovoltaic generation plant greatly affected by weather, and the construction cost is between one third and half of the construction cost that a photovoltaic generation plant needs. The generation capacity is projected between 100-2,000 megawatts and the construction cost is estimated between 17 and 340 billion yen. The world market of solar power generation including related equipment is expected to reach nearly 1,000 billion yen in 2015.