23 July 2013
Alstom and Soitec sign an agreement to create a French alliance for concentrating photovoltaic power plants
Alstom and Soitec, a world leader in generating and manufacturing semiconductor materials of extreme performance for the electronics and energy industries, have signed a cooperative agreement in order to provide concentrating photovoltaic power plants.
This agreement follows the call for tender issued by the French Energy Regulation Commission[1], last March 13th, in order to exploit solar power plants using whole or in-part concentrating photovoltaic technology, for a total power capacity of 100 MW.
In order to propose a complete and competitive offer, Alstom and Soitec will combine their experience in delivering turnkey power plants and in providing integrated solutions and main equipment for power generation on one hand, and concentrating photovoltaic technology, on the other hand. Soitec's high efficiency solar modules are well suited to the solar power production in the South of France.
Alstom and Soitec are seeking to create a sector of excellence, which will create jobs and be ready to meet the challenges of the French energy transition. These future power plants will also showcase and promote concentrating solar photovoltaic power plants internationally.
"This cooperation with Soitec demonstrates Alstom's wish to develop its offer and technologies for renewable energies. With Solar CSP (Concentrated solar Power or solar thermal) we are able to deliver equipment for large capacity units. Thanks to our cooperation with Soitec in concentrating photovoltaic, we will propose a perfectly complementary offer for high efficiency power plants with flexible capacity and rapid deployment", said Jerome Pécresse, President of Alstom Renewable Power.
"This cooperation with Alstom confirms that our concentrating photovoltaic technology is essential to answer to the growing demand in France and globally, for a clean, reliable and competitive energy", said André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, Soitec CEO.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar energy, including both Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaics could account for 25% of global electricity by 2050 and cover a third of global energy demand after 2060.
About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 93,000 people in around 100 countries. It had sales of over €20 billion and booked close to €24 billion in orders in 2012/13. www.alstom.com
About Soitec
Soitec is an international manufacturing company, a world leader in generating and manufacturing revolutionary semiconductor materials at the frontier of the most exciting energy and electronic challenges. Soitec's products include substrates for microelectronics (most notably SOI: Silicon-on-Insulator) and concentrator photovoltaic systems (CPV). The company's core technologies are Smart Cut(TM), Smart Stacking(TM) and Concentrix(TM), as well as expertise in epitaxy. Applications include consumer and mobile electronics, microelectronics-driven IT, telecommunications, automotive electronics, lighting products and large-scale solar power plants. Soitec has manufacturing plants and R&D centers in France, Singapore, Germany and the United States. For more information, visit: www.soitec.com
Press contacts
Alstom Coporate : Virginie Hourdin / Isabelle Tourancheau - Tel +33 1 41 49 21 36 / 39 95
virginie.hourdin-bremond@chq.alstom.com ; isabelle.tourancheau@chq.alstom.com
Stephanie Roux / Jerome Bridon (Alstom Renewable Power) - Tel +33 1 41 49 78 62 /38 78
stephanie.roux@power.alstom.com , jerome.bridon@power.alstom.com
Soitec (trade press): Camille Darnaud-Dufour - Tel: +33 (0)6 79 49 51 43; camille.darnaud-dufour@soitec.com
Soitec (business press) : Marylen Schmidt - Tel: +33 (0) 4 76 92 87 83; marylen.schmidt@soitec.com
Investor relations
Alstom : Delphine Brault - Tel +33 1 41 49 37 38 / 26 42
delphine.brault@chq.alstom.com anouch.mkhitarian@chq.alstom.com
Soitec : Olivier Brice (Soitec) - Tel : +33 (0)4 76 92 93 80 ; olivier.brice@soitec.com
[1] CRE (Commission de Régulation de l'Energie) is an independent administrative authority in charge to regulate the energy sector in France. Its call for tenders to build and operate power plants harnessing solar energy with individual capacity of over 250 kWp was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on March 9th, 2013
