History

Principal members of the BSII technical team have been pioneering solar thermal energy for nearly three decades. As Luz International Ltd. (“Luz”), key members of the BSII team designed and developed the world’s first commercially-viable solar thermal plants – the nine Solar Electricity Generating Systems (SEGS) worth 354 megawatts - in California’s Mojave Desert that are still running today and represent nearly 70 percent of the U.S. solar thermal power production.

The original Luz projects were based on solar thermal parabolic trough technology, which focused sunlight on a pipe carrying synthetic oil. The BrightSource team is building on this legacy and advancing solar thermal technology by developing and deploying a proprietary power tower technology system, which increases solar-to-thermal conversion efficiency while lowering plant costs.