NETANYA, Israel — Brightsource Energy Inc. (Oakland, California) and subsidiary Luz II Ltd. (Jerusalem, Israel) have inaugurated their Solar Energy Development Center (SEDC) in the Rotem Industrial Park in southern Israel. The center is an operational solar field that will provide the company with the ability to test equipment, materials and procedures as well as construction and operating methods.

In March, Brightsource entered into a series of power purchase agreements with PG&E for up to 900MW of electricity. Brightsource is currently developing several solar power plants in Southern California, with construction of the first plant planned to start in 2009. In May, Brightsource announced that it had secured $115 million in additional corporate funding from its Series C round of financing, bringing the total the company has raised to date to over $160 million.

This solar field is a scaled cross-section of a typical commercial plant and includes more than 1,600 full-size glass mirrors (heliostats) and a 60 meter tall tower topped by a solar boiler. The power tower and surrounding heliostats concentrate the sun's energy onto the boiler, heating the water inside to 550 degrees C, or over 1000 degrees F. In a commercial plant, the utility-grade superheated steam will be piped from the boiler to a standard turbine where electricity will be generated. From there, transmission lines would carry the power to homes and businesses. In order to conserve water, Brightsource uses air cooling to convert the steam back into water. The water is then returned to the boiler in a closed loop.