A field of mirrors and energy. This is how one could describe the Solucar platform, the largest solar tower power plant in Europe, built by the Spanish company Abengoa in the town of Sanlucar la Mayor. These facilities were visited on October 29th by a group of 40 researchers from the Isla de la Cartuja Scientific Research Center (cicCartuja) who participated in the last Science Fair held in May 2010. José Domínguez Abascal, Abengoa’s Technical Secretary General, was with them at all times and acted as a guide through the different departments and plants that make up the company. Domínguez Abascal welcomed the cicCartuja expedition and informed them about the organizational structure of the multinational Abengoa, which operates in seven countries through five different business groups: Abengoa Bioenergy (dedicated to producing ecological biofuels and national food), Befesa (focused on environmental services), Telvent (which is in charge of information technology management), Abeinsa (dedicated to engineering and industrial construction) and the aforementioned Abengoa Solar, which produces, from the sun, electrical energy by thermoelectric and photovoltaic means.
After the presentation, the cicCartuja group visited the control room and Abengoa Solar’s PS-10 and PS-20 plants, the first and second commercial towers in the world, which reach heights of 115 and 160 meters, respectively. In total, according to Domínguez Abascal, Abengoa Solar employs more than 2,500 people in Seville. Its rate of growth and its commitment to innovation and development also make it a benchmark for research, as evidenced by its next project, which will be called Abengoa Research. José Domínguez Abascal used this proposal to compare Abengoa Solar’s work with that of CicCartuja, a center that, after this visit, is closer to the objectives of the company located in Sanlúcar la Mayor.