History
Ausra was formed as Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd in 2002 in Sydney, Australia. The company was co-founded by Dr. David Mills, Professor Graham Morrison and Peter Le Lievre. Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd constructed a 1MW pilot solar plant at Liddell Power Station in 2005 and then began work on a 5MW extension to that project in 2006. The project was renamed the "John Marcheff Solar Project" by its owner, Macquarie Generation.
Solar Heat and Power relocated to the United States in 2007 and was renamed as Ausra. The company began operation of its 130,000-square-foot (12,000 m2) solar thermal power systems plant in Las Vegas in July 2008. The facility was the first comprehensive solar thermal manufacturing plant in the United States.
In the fallout of the 2008–09 recession, Ausra laid off 10% of its workers and redirected its efforts toward making solar equipment for other companies rather than building its own power plants. In October 2008, Ausra launched the 5 MW Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant in Bakersfield, California. In November 2009 the company canceled its plans to build the 177 MW Carrizo Energy Solar Farm in California.
In November 2009, Ausra announced that it was seeking to sell itself, because "it will not be able to deploy its capital-intensive solar technology on a large scale without the backing of major company."
In February 2010, the Areva bought Ausra, and renamed it Areva Solar.
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