Andasol 3 is due to begin commercial operation in October 2011. Together with Andasol 1 and Andasol 2, which are located on the same site and almost identical in design, the plants will supply around half a million consumers with solar generated electricity.

Andasol 1 and Andasol 2 are already connected to the grid.

Andasol 3 has a thermal storage solution which enables the power plant to generate electricity reliably for up to eight hours - even at night or in cloudy weather. By the end of July both storage facilities will have been filled with the liquid salt mixture required for storing heat. After the turbine has been synchronised in August, further tests should see electricity fed into the Spanish high-voltage network.

A total of more than 200,000 parabolic mirrors have been installed at Andasol 3, covering an area equivalent to 70 football fields. The investors in Andasol 3 are the Stadtwerke München, Ferrostaal, Solar Millennium, RWE Innogy and RheinEnergie.

The Spanish company Duro Felguera together with Ferrostaal, Solar Millennium and their joint subsidiary Flagsol were responsible for planning and constructing the solar power plant.