Antinuclear

Australian solar companies taken over by multinationals

Local solar power leaders taken over by Areva and Silex THE AUSTRALIAN,  Giles Parkinson   February 10, 2010 TWO of Australia’s most promising solar energy technologies changed hands yesterday, with the world’s largest nuclear energy group Areva buying Ausra and Silex Systems acquiring the assets of the collapsed Solar Systems.

The transactions continued a spate of deals in the solar energy sector, as start-ups seek the financial strength to turn their technology into full-scale commercial ventures.Ausra, founded by UNSW researcher Professor David Mills and backed by several high-profile venture capital investors, put itself up for sale in November.What turned out to be a three-way contest was won by the French nuclear giant Areva, which is making its first investments in solar energy.

Victoria-based Solar Systems, a developer of concentrated solar photovoltaic technology, has not been so lucky. It planned to build what would have been the world’s largest solar utility at Mildura.

Silex will buy Solar Systems for $2m cash and $18m in shares, a blow for investors including TRUenergy and Graeme Morgan and Martin Copley, who injected $150m in equity and loans into the company. It is thought one third of the $20m in cash and stock will be used to pay the costs of a six-month administration by PricewaterhouseCoopers and for emergency loans over that time.

Silex also picked up the Sydney solar photovoltaics factory abandoned by BP Solar when the solar-panel factory quit the country two years ago………..

The purchase depends on the federal and Victorian governments committing to $125m subsidies promised for the Mildura project.

Silex intends to spend about $10m over the next 12-18 months trying to resolve technical difficulties before committing to a 2 megawatt pilot project and then the 150MW facility.

Local solar power leaders taken over by Areva and Silex | The Australian

February 9, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, energy, solar | antinuclear, Australia, climate change, energy, nuclear, renewable, solar