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Key people at AREVA Solar.
AREVA Solar is a Mountain View, California-based renewable energy company that designs and manufactures Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector solar steam generators for utility-scale electricity generation and industrial steam production. Operating as a subsidiary of the French multinational energy corporation AREVA, the business was formed following an estimated $275 million acquisition of its predecessor, which had previously raised $130 million in venture funding and employed 70 people. Prior to the acquisition, the entity received financial backing from prominent venture capital firms including Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The company provided concentrated solar power infrastructure to global clients, notably securing a contract to build a 250-megawatt installation for Reliance Power in India before its parent organization exited the sector. The enterprise was originally founded as Ausra in 2006 by David Mills and Peter Le Lievre.
Key people at AREVA Solar.
AREVA Solar was a subsidiary of the French nuclear energy giant Areva, focused on developing and deploying concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, specifically solar steam generators for electricity production and industrial steam applications.[1][2] Headquartered in Mountain View, California, with operations in the US and Australia, it targeted utility-scale power plants and industrial users seeking clean, renewable thermal energy alternatives to fossil fuels.[1][6] The company solved the challenge of reliable, dispatchable solar energy by using compact linear Fresnel reflector (CLFR) systems, which proved scalable but capital-intensive, leading to early pilots like a 1MW plant in Australia before acquisition.[1]
Growth included rapid expansion post-relocation to the US in 2007, a manufacturing plant in Las Vegas by 2008, and projects like a planned power plant in Australia, but momentum stalled amid industry challenges.[1][6] AREVA acquired it in 2010 for its renewable portfolio, yet shuttered operations in August 2014 due to financial pressures and a strategic retreat from solar following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.[1][2][4]
AREVA Solar traces its roots to 2002 in Sydney, Australia, where it began as Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd, co-founded by Dr. David Mills, Professor Graham Morrison, and Peter Le Lievre—experts in solar thermal engineering.[1][6] The idea emerged from innovations in CLFR technology, enabling efficient solar steam generation; early traction came with a 1MW pilot at Liddell Power Station in 2005 and a 5MW extension in 2006, renamed the John Marcheff Solar Project.[1]
Renamed Ausra Inc. upon US relocation in 2007, it built America's first comprehensive solar thermal manufacturing plant in Las Vegas (130,000 sq ft) by 2008.[1] Facing capital needs for large-scale deployment, Ausra sought a buyer in 2009; Areva acquired it in February 2010, rebranding it AREVA Solar to bolster its renewables arm amid growing clean energy demand.[1][3] This pivot humanized Areva's shift beyond nuclear, but post-Fukushima economics and nuclear focus led to its 2014 closure.[1][4]
(Note: A separate, unrelated Finnish firm named Areva Solar exists for panels, but lacks connection to the original CSP entity.[5])
AREVA Solar rode the early-2000s CSP wave, capitalizing on post-Kyoto climate mandates and oil price spikes driving renewables investment.[3][4] Timing aligned with Areva's 2006 renewables expansion—adding solar to wind, biomass, and hydrogen—positioning it amid nuclear giants diversifying for "carbon-free" energy portfolios.[2][3][4] Market forces like subsidies (e.g., US loan guarantees) and hybrid plant demand favored its tech, influencing ecosystems by proving CLFR viability and inspiring followers like BrightSource.[1]
It highlighted solar thermal's niche for storage-enabled renewables versus intermittent PV/wind, but exposed risks: high upfront costs and competition from cheaper PV post-2010, amplified by Fukushima's nuclear retrenchment.[1][4] Ultimately, its shuttering underscored consolidation in CSP, paving for streamlined players in today's utility-scale solar.
AREVA Solar's legacy endures in deployed pilots and CLFR tech adoption, but as a defunct 2014 entity, its direct trajectory ended amid Areva's 2018 restructuring into Orano, Framatome, and EDF spin-offs.[1][2][4] No revival is evident; remnants likely absorbed into broader solar histories. Shaping trends like hybrid renewables and thermal storage will favor evolved CSP, potentially via successors leveraging its IP. Its story warns of capex pitfalls in cleantech, yet validates solar steam's role—echoing the original promise of scalable, fossil-free power that hooked early innovators.[1][3]
