Solastor plans demo plant at Port Augusta by year end

The Advertiser reports this week that Sydney-based company SOLASTOR Australia will build a one megawatt demonstration plant at Port Augusta by the end of this year and connect it to the existing grid as a first step to its proposed $1.2 billion solar thermal project.

The company, owned by Momentum Energy & Resources and Solastor, is chaired by former Liberal leader John Hewson.

The project has “in-principle” support from Federal and State governments. Dr Hewson said the full-scale plant, producing 110MW power in winter and 170MW in summer, would be able to store a week’s worth of energy, making it more efficient and cost-effective than existing, renewable energy projects which can only supply intermittent power to the grid. 

“We’re not wanting to raise expectations falsely because we still haven’t finalised the land, the finance (or) the approvals process, but we’ve started them all,” Mr Hewson said.

“We have no doubt it can be done, otherwise we wouldn’t have announced it.”

Dr Hewson said Solastor had not factored any grants into its “conservative” business case but would seek assistance through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, with other funds likely to come from a consortium of banks.

Solastor’s project will have modules, each with 86 computer-controlled concave heliostat mirrors, that reflect the sun’s energy into tower mounted solar thermal receivers. This receiver comprises synthetic graphite which is heated; this heat is transferred to stainless steel tubing systems containing water that is pumped through for conversion to steam which drives a turbine.

The demonstration plant will have five modules fitted with a 1MW steam turbine generator.

Yesterday’s announcement was also attended by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, Labor spokesman Mark Butler, Premier Jay Weatherill, Grey MP Rowan Ramsey and State Environment Minister Ian Hunter.

The full-scale project is expected to power more than 200,000 homes, helping to fill the gap left when the last of Alinta Energy’s coal-fired power stations in Port Augusta shut down last month.

It is also expected to create 600 jobs during construction and about 100 long-term positions.

“South Australia can lead the nation in renewable energy with the proposed solar thermal power station,” Premier Jay Weatherill said.

He also said there would likely be room for more than one solar plant in the state’s clean energy mix, alluding to US company SolarReserve’s proposal for Port Augusta, which has also been welcomed.

“South Australia’s acting first and we’ll get the benefits from being the first to move,” Mr Weatherill said.