Wind Energy

Weir Minerals Lewis Pumps awarded Molten Salt Pump Contract for Solar Thermal

Lewis® Pumps, a division of Weir Minerals, has secured the contract to provide molten salt pumps for the 280-megawatt Solana Generating Station in Gila Bend, Arizona. The project, developed by Abengoa Solar S.A., will be one of the largest concentrating solar thermal power plants in the world when it is completed.

Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, Lewis® Pumps will provide all of the molten salt pumps for the project. The highly engineered centrifugal pumps are an integral part of Solana’s Thermal Energy Storage system, which will rely on the Lewis® pumps for circulation. The molten salt system will store enough thermal energy to continue generating electricity for six hours without solar input.

Once operational, the plant will produce enough energy to serve 70,000 households and will provide a cleaner energy source, preventing the release of 475,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the environment annually.

Lewis® Pumps proudly manufactures its pumps in the United States and joins numerous other American companies providing supplies and equipment for the solar plant, located approximately 70 miles southwest of Phoenix. Ken Black, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Lewis® Pumps, said "The Solana project is an exceptional opportunity to expand the use of solar power in the United States. Abengoa Solar has provided Lewis Pumps and other American companies with new avenues for growth and expansion and we are excited to be a part of the project." The pumps are currently in production at Lewis® Pumps and the solar plant is expected to be fully operational by 2013.

www.weirminerals.com/