The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), has requested information from prospective industry participants on the costs and benefits of Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST).
This information will help ARENA and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to determine the scope and focus of government assistance for the deployment of CST in Australia.
The call follows the Turnbull Government’s commitment in the Budget to make up to $110 million available for an equity investment to accelerate and secure delivery of a CST plant at Port Augusta, South Australia.
CST plants operate in a similar way to traditional fossil fuel power plants with steam spinning a conventional turbine which means they can contribute to network stability and reliability when coupled with built-in storage.
ARENA and the CEFC have a strong track record in supporting the commercialisation of emerging technologies and will use that expertise to take CST to the next level in Australia.
CST plants are being developed across the world including one which Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, visited in the Negev Desert in Israel.
"The Negev Desert has a similar solar radiation profile to Port Augusta which means Australia is well placed to take the learnings from that development and apply them here," the Minister said.
Interested parties are expected to include (but are not limited to) project proponents, debt and equity investors, original equipment manufacturers, off-takers and government entities.
Responses are due by July 31, 2017, can cover all types of CST technology and project sizes, and should not exceed a written submission of 20 pages. Responses and enquiries should be emailed to proposals@arena.gov.au