Israel Innovation 2.0

According to The New York Times environment blog,

“BrightSource Energy has broken ground on a 29-megawatt solar steam plant at a Chevron oil field in Coalinga, Calif.”

The move is a great for both companies. For Chevron, which, along with competitors BP and StatoilHydro, is an investor,

“a solar power plant builder based in Oakland, Calif., and solar-powered oil extraction offers the oil giant an opportunity to reduce its carbon footprint while gaining a hedge against volatile natural gas prices.”

While, BrightSource, which has signed other significant contracts in California this year, will have the chance “to scale up its technology” and “explore new applications for its technology.”

It’s important to note that the field won’t be powered by solar steam exclusively. As it only works when the sun is out, the field will still use rely on previous sources for  power at other times.

Tomorrow kicks off the first of the three-day Eilat International Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition that takes place in the the resort town of Eilat, in Israel’s southern tip.

Two companies that I’ll be paying close attention to during the conference are the solar energy companies, BrightSource Energy and Aora. Brightsource recently inked the largest solar energy deal ever that will help provide Southern California with more energy, while Aora just raised $5 million in funding.

Here is a little more about each company according to their websites.

BrightSource: BrightSource Energy, Inc., based in Oakland, California and Jerusalem, Israel, designs and builds large scale solar plants that deliver low-cost solar energy in the form of steam and/or electricity, at prices competitive with fossil fuels, to industrial and utility customers worldwide. Its Jerusalem subsidary, Luz II, Ltd., provides product development and engineering, project engineering and management, and solar field manufacturing and supply services.

AORA: Formerly known as EDIG Solar, AORA is an Israeli solar thermal company that is based on research and development by Prof. Jacob Karni of the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel. The company’s technology offers solutions for providing smaller quantities of solar thermal that are closer to residential communities.