SolarReserve
SolarReserve was a U.S. developer of utility-scale concentrated solar power and photovoltaic projects, best known for commercializing molten-salt energy storage.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
SolarReserve was a United States-based renewable-energy project developer focused on utility-scale solar generation and long-duration thermal storage. Its principal technology was concentrated solar power (CSP) using a central power tower and molten salt. A field of computer-controlled heliostats reflected sunlight onto a receiver at the top of a tower, heating a molten-salt medium. The stored heat could later be used to create steam and drive a turbine, allowing electricity production after sunset and improving the dispatchability of solar generation. The company was formed in early 2008 with seed capital from US Renewables Group and in partnership with United Technologies Corporation. Its technology heritage came from Rocketdyne, which had worked for approximately two decades on molten-salt systems, solar receivers, heliostats, and related control technology. SolarReserve subsequently raised additional capital, including a reported Series B financing in September 2008, and acquired specified Rocketdyne intellectual-property rights and patents in 2014. These assets covered molten-salt technology for solar-thermal power and electricity storage, heliostat designs, and collector-field control systems. SolarReserve pursued projects in the United States, South Africa, Australia, Chile, and other markets. Its development portfolio combined CSP projects with photovoltaic facilities. By May 2015, the company stated that it had developed or secured long-term power contracts for 482 megawatts of solar projects, representing approximately $2.8 billion in project capital, while reporting a global development pipeline exceeding 6.6 gigawatts. The company also promoted the ability of storage-equipped solar towers to provide firm or around-the-clock electricity rather than only daytime output. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada was SolarReserve's signature demonstration of this model. The 110-megawatt facility used 10,347 heliostats and a 640-foot tower, with an intended ten hours of thermal storage and a long-term power contract with NV Energy. Although the project was presented as a landmark in commercial solar-thermal storage, operational difficulties, including failures involving molten-salt storage tanks and an extended outage, undermined its performance. NV Energy terminated the power agreement in October 2019, stating that the project had failed to produce as required. SolarReserve also developed or proposed the Redstone project in South Africa, the Aurora project in South Australia, and the Copiapó hybrid CSP-photovoltaic project in Chile. Copiapó attracted attention after SolarReserve submitted a 2017 auction bid of $63 per megawatt-hour for dispatchable solar power without subsidies. Other SolarReserve-linked photovoltaic projects included Lesedi, Letsatsi, and Jasper in South Africa. By 2020, SolarReserve had ceased operations and its website was no longer active. The company and affiliated entities also became involved in litigation concerning control and access to records relating to Tonopah Solar Energy LLC, the project company associated with Crescent Dunes. A Delaware court rejected an affiliate's claim to inspect the company's books. SolarReserve therefore remains notable both for advancing commercial molten-salt solar-thermal storage and for the difficulties encountered in bringing that technology to reliable utility-scale operation.
History
SolarReserve was established in early 2008 to commercialize advanced molten-salt technology for utility-scale concentrated solar-thermal power. US Renewables Group supplied seed capital, while United Technologies Corporation participated in the company's formation. The underlying technology originated in work performed by Rocketdyne over roughly two decades. That work included solar receivers, molten-salt storage, heliostats, and control systems supported by a substantial patent portfolio. The company sought to make CSP more competitive by separating solar collection from electricity generation. During daylight, heliostats directed sunlight to a receiver on a central tower, heating molten salt. The hot salt could then be stored and dispatched to a steam turbine when electricity was required. This configuration was intended to overcome the intermittency of conventional photovoltaic generation and to supply power after sunset. SolarReserve raised further private capital in 2008 and developed a portfolio spanning both CSP and photovoltaic projects. In 2011, it received a U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee for Crescent Dunes and began construction of the Nevada facility. Crescent Dunes was designed as a 110-megawatt power-tower plant with ten hours of storage. It used 10,347 tracking mirrors and a 640-foot tower, and was contracted to sell its output to NV Energy for 25 years. The project became the company's best-known commercial reference but experienced significant technical and operational problems. Failures in the molten-salt storage system contributed to a lengthy outage, and the facility did not meet the production expectations underlying its power contract. NV Energy terminated the agreement in October 2019. SolarReserve also cancelled another Nevada project during 2019. International development continued alongside the Nevada project. The proposed 100-megawatt Redstone Solar Thermal Power Project in South Africa was designed with twelve hours of storage and was reported in 2019 to be approaching financing completion. In Australia, SolarReserve proposed the 150-megawatt Aurora Solar Thermal Power Project near Port Augusta, but the South Australian government announced its cancellation on 5 April 2019. In Chile, the proposed 260-megawatt Copiapó project combined CSP and photovoltaic generation and was designed with fourteen hours of storage. SolarReserve's 2017 auction bid of $63 per megawatt-hour for dispatchable, unsubsidized solar power drew attention as an effort to demonstrate the cost competitiveness of stored solar electricity. The company also developed photovoltaic projects including Lesedi, Letsatsi, and Jasper in South Africa. By May 2015, SolarReserve reported 482 megawatts of projects developed or supported by long-term power contracts and a global pipeline of more than 6.6 gigawatts. In 2014, it acquired from Rocketdyne specified intellectual-property rights and patents related to molten-salt CSP, storage, heliostat design, and collector-field control. SolarReserve's corporate activity diminished after the Crescent Dunes contract ended. By 2020, the company had ceased operations and its website was no longer active. An affiliated entity later pursued litigation seeking access to the books of Tonopah Solar Energy LLC, the project company connected with Crescent Dunes. The Delaware court rejected that claim. SolarReserve's legacy is consequently mixed: it helped advance the commercial profile of long-duration solar-thermal storage, but its principal operating project exposed the engineering, financing, and contractual risks of first-of-a-kind utility-scale CSP.
- 2020
Operations cease
[1]SolarReserve is reported to have ceased operations, and its website is no longer active.
- 2019
Crescent Dunes agreement terminated
[1]NV Energy terminates the Crescent Dunes power agreement after the plant fails to produce reliably.
- 2019
Aurora project cancelled
[1]South Australia announces cancellation of the proposed Aurora solar-thermal project.
- 2017
Copiapó auction bid
[1]SolarReserve bids $63 per megawatt-hour for dispatchable solar power from its proposed Copiapó project in Chile.
- 2014
Rocketdyne intellectual property acquired
[1]SolarReserve acquires specified Rocketdyne patents and intellectual-property rights related to molten-salt CSP, storage, heliostats, and field controls.
- 2011
Crescent Dunes receives federal loan guarantee
[1]The U.S. Department of Energy provides a $737 million loan guarantee for the Crescent Dunes project, which then breaks ground.
- 2008
SolarReserve is formed
[1]SolarReserve is established with seed capital from US Renewables Group and in partnership with United Technologies Corporation to commercialize molten-salt CSP technology.
- 2008
Series B financing
[1]The company reportedly raises $140 million in a Series B financing.
Products and positioning
SolarReserve positioned itself as a developer and technology commercializer of dispatchable solar power. Its differentiation was the integration of central-tower CSP with molten-salt storage, intended to provide electricity during nighttime and other periods when sunlight was unavailable.
Concentrated solar power · 2011
Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project
A 110-megawatt solar power tower project near Tonopah, Nevada. Its 10,347 heliostats concentrated sunlight onto a receiver atop a 640-foot tower, heating molten salt for an intended ten hours of thermal storage. The project was designed to generate electricity both during daylight and after sunset, but technical failures and prolonged outages led NV Energy to terminate its power agreement in 2019.
Concentrated solar power
Redstone Solar Thermal Power Project
A planned 100-megawatt solar-thermal facility near Postmasburg and Kimberley in South Africa. The design included approximately twelve hours of storage, allowing the plant to deliver electricity beyond daylight hours and potentially serve more than 200,000 homes. Financing was reported to be nearing completion in 2019.
Concentrated solar power
Aurora Solar Thermal Power Project
A proposed 150-megawatt solar-thermal power plant approximately 30 kilometres north of Port Augusta in South Australia. It was intended to use thermal storage to provide dispatchable electricity at a price positioned against combined-cycle gas generation. The South Australian government announced the project's cancellation in April 2019.
Hybrid concentrated solar and photovoltaic power
Copiapó Solar Project
A proposed 260-megawatt hybrid facility in Chile's Atacama Region combining CSP and photovoltaic generation. Its planned fourteen hours of storage were intended to support delivery to more than 560,000 homes and provide power beyond daylight hours. SolarReserve's 2017 auction bid for the project became a prominent example of its effort to offer unsubsidized, dispatchable solar power.
Photovoltaic solar power
Lesedi, Letsatsi, and Jasper Solar Energy Projects
A group of photovoltaic projects associated with SolarReserve's development portfolio in South Africa. The available reference material identifies the projects as part of the company's PV activities but does not provide sufficient detail here to describe their individual capacities, ownership structures, or operating outcomes.
Controversies
Litigation over Tonopah Solar Energy records
After SolarReserve lost control of the Tonopah Solar Energy LLC project company associated with Crescent Dunes, an affiliate sought to inspect the company's books. A Delaware court rejected the affiliate's claim. The dispute followed the commercial and operational problems affecting Crescent Dunes.
Brand decisions
2019
Crescent Dunes power agreement endsStrategyBackground
Repeated failures in the molten-salt storage system and an extended outage impaired the facility's ability to meet contracted production expectations.
Action taken
NV Energy terminated its 25-year power agreement for Crescent Dunes and SolarReserve cancelled another Nevada project.
Aftermath
The decision severely weakened the company's flagship operating project and preceded the reported cessation of SolarReserve's operations by 2020.
2017
Bid for dispatchable solar power in ChileStrategyBackground
SolarReserve sought to show that CSP with long-duration storage could compete with conventional generation without subsidies.
Action taken
It submitted a $63-per-megawatt-hour bid for the proposed Copiapó hybrid CSP and photovoltaic project.
Aftermath
The bid became a notable demonstration of the company's cost and dispatchability strategy, although the project did not establish an operating commercial reference in the supplied material.
Bid price. $63 per megawatt-hour (2017 auction)
2014
Acquisition of Rocketdyne solar-thermal intellectual propertyM&ABackground
SolarReserve needed control of the technology platform underlying its molten-salt power-tower strategy.
Action taken
The company acquired specified Rocketdyne patents and intellectual-property rights covering molten-salt CSP, storage, heliostats, and collector-field controls.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened SolarReserve's position as a technology owner and developer of storage-equipped CSP projects.
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