Elecnor to invest 900 mln eur in thermosolar plants

MADRID, June 22 (Reuters) - Spanish renewable energy firm Elecnor (ENOR.MC) said on Monday it would invest 935 million euros ($1.30 billion) to build three thermosolar plants in southern Spain capable of supply 90,000 homes.

The plants will have 50 megawatts of capacity each and are due to come on stream in the second half of 2011, the firm said in a statement to the Spanish stock exchange regulator the CNMV.

Thermosolar plants are currently limited to 50 megawatts of capacity in order to receive subsidies. As opposed to photovoltaic (PV) plants, which directly convert solar energy into electricity, thermosolar plants concentrate the sun's rays to boil water and drive conventional turbines.

Spain is the world's second-largest solar power producer in due to a recent boom in PV plants, of which it has 3,350 MW, but generous subsidies have been cut back and many planned solar plants in the country are now thermosolar.

Many analysts say thermosolar plants are more likely than PV to compete with conventional power on costs because they are bigger and have more economies of scale.

Elecnor said it was also studying requesting permits for another two thermoelectric plants to have a total of five plants in Spain by 2013. ($1=.7216 Euro) (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, Sarah Morris and Martin Roberts; editing by Simon Jessop)