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New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
New 30 MW concentrated solar power plant to be funded in Australia
22/2/2023
News
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has approved $65mn in funding to Vast Solar to construct VS1, a 30 MW/288 MWh concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Port Augusta, South Australia.
The $203mn project is expected to take two years to build, with commercial operations starting in late 2025. VS1 seeks to demonstrate the technical and operational performance of Vast Solar’s modular CSP technology at utility scale. This should unlock further investment in future projects and demonstrate how CSP can provide a reliable and scalable dispatchable renewable energy solution in the Australian market, reports ARENA.
CSP uses mirrors to concentrate and capture heat from the sun in solar receivers, with high temperature heat transferred via sodium and stored in molten salt. The stored heat can then be used to heat water to create steam to power a turbine and produce electricity, or the heat can also be used directly to decarbonise some industrial processes.
The captured heat can be stored cost-effectively for long periods with little loss of energy, meaning that CSP can be used to generate electricity or provide heat on demand, including overnight.
Darren Miller, Chief Executive, ARENA, says the expansion of Vast Solar’s technology into a commercial-scale project shows that CSP technology could play an important role in generating and storing renewable energy at scale. ‘With the increasing need for dispatchable renewable generation and longer duration energy storage, CSP has potential to assist Australia’s energy transition alongside pumped hydro and large-scale batteries,’ he explains.
The Australian government and ARENA have also provided $19.48mn in conditional funding through the HyGATE initiative with Germany for Vast Solar’s solar methanol production plant which consists of a 10 MW electrolyser producing green hydrogen for solar methanol production. Electricity and heat generated by VS1 will be used to power the electrolyser.
New Nigerian project
Meanwhile, in other solar news, a 10 MW solar farm in the Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano in Nigeria has been commissioned. Sitting on 24 hectares of land, the $16mn solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant and associated 12 km energy evacuation infrastructure is thought to be the largest grid-connected solar PV plant in the African country.
Jointly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Kano State Government, and the host Local Government Area of Kumbotso, it is hoped that full operationalisation of the project will catalyse growth in the power sector as the plant demonstrates that large-scale renewable energy projects can be successfully delivered in Nigeria.
It will also support Nigeria’s pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060.
