ACME Invests $30M into eSolar for Exclusive to Key International Market
PASADENA, Calif. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --
eSolar, a producer of modular, scalable solar thermal power plants, today announced an exclusive licensing agreement with the ACME Group, a leader in the field of energy, environmental and telecommunications infrastructure solutions in India, to build up to 1,000 MW of solar thermal power plants over the next 10 years. eSolar names ACME as a master licensee of its modular, scalable technology and grants the company the exclusive right to represent eSolar in India developing its own utility-scale solar thermal projects and working with other companies that want to build solar thermal power plants in India using eSolar technology. The agreement combines both companies' resources to enable complete project capabilities, ranging from technology development and component manufacturing to power plant construction and operation. Additionally, ACME will make a $30 million equity investment in eSolar.
"eSolar has produced the first solar energy that is competitive with fossil fuels," said Bill Gross, CEO of eSolar. "ACME's $30 million commitment demonstrates their confidence in eSolar's technology. We are committed to working with the very best partners, such as ACME, to scale deployment as quickly as possible around the world."
This partnership represents eSolar's first international licensing agreement. As a master licensee, ACME will build, own and operate solar thermal plants in India using eSolar's modular and scalable design and will work with other companies to build solar thermal power plants in India using eSolar technology. ACME has already signed power purchase MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) for 250 MW. Construction will start later this year on the first 100 MW of eSolar power plants, and ACME is targeting 1,000 MW of solar power within India over the next 10 years. This deal builds on eSolar's recently announced partnership with and $10 million equity investment from NRG Energy, Inc. to construct 500 MW in the United States.
"The eSolar system addresses obstacles that have previously plagued solar installations and presents a viable, cost-effective alternative that can scale quickly to meet India's growing energy needs," said Manoj Upadhyay, Chairman and CEO of the ACME Group.
Commenting on the deal, ACME COO Atul Sabharwal added, "eSolar's technology platform fits in perfectly with our core mission to develop and deliver products that save energy, support the environment and can be deployed quickly and easily. Our partnership with eSolar is a milestone toward both companies' goal of delivering solar power that is cost-competitive with fossil fuel based energy."
About eSolar
eSolar is an Idealab company founded by CEO Bill Gross and CTO Asif Ansari in 2007 to develop, construct and deploy modular, scalable solar thermal power plants. eSolar's approach marries a low-impact, pre-fabricated form factor with advanced optics and computer software engineering to meet the demands of utilities of any size for clean, renewable and cost-competitive solar energy. By focusing on the key business obstacles that have characterized large solar installations - price, scalability, speed of deployment and grid impact - eSolar has developed a proprietary solution to make a dramatic reduction in the cost of solar thermal technology. eSolar is based in Pasadena, California. For more information please visit http://www.esolar.com/.
About The ACME Group
The ACME Group is a leader in the field of innovative energy efficient solutions for global wireless telecommunications, cold chain systems, waste water treatment and environmental impact solutions. Over the years, ACME's innovative technology solutions have been geared towards reducing the use of diesel fuel through optimizing energy efficiency and consequently, lowering the environmental impact of fossil fuel usage. The Company has been actively pursuing clean distributed power and alternative energy solutions, such as fuel cells, microturbines, solar energy, biogas and wind energy.
For more information please visit http://www.acme.in.
CONTACT:
Antenna Group for eSolar:
Casey Cronin, + 1-415-977-1912
casey@antennagroup.com
or
The ACME Group
United States
Atul Sabharwal, +1-202-363-6777
atul@acme.in
or
India
Barun Banerji, +91 124 4561831
barun.banerji@acme.in