This has been announced by Torresol Energy, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi's sustainable energy company Masdar and Sener, a Spanish engineering and construction firm. Together, the plants will produce 320 GWh of electricity annually. They are both equipped with thermal storage. According to Torresol Energy this allows them to produce electrical power for up to 7.5 hours without any radiation from the sun.
Construction of Valle 1 and 2 began in December 2009, and was completed in December 2011. In January 2012 the plants were connected to the Spanish national grid to begin commercial operation. The General Manager of Torresol Energy, Alvaro Lorente, explained that 'the Valle 1 and 2 projects were financed through seven Spanish commercial banks in 2009 for a total sum of ? 540 million, despite the global financial crisis. This operation was awarded the Project Finance Deal of the Year 2009 in the Clean Energy Sector by EuroMoney.'
