ARENA looking to commercialise CST in Australia

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has set out its plans for seeking industry information as the first step in exploring how concentrated sunlight could generate reliable, affordable renewable energy with built-in storage for our national grids, in a call that aligns with the federal government’s offer to make up to $110 million available for an equity investment to accelerate and secure delivery of a concentrated solar thermal (CST) project in Port Augusta.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said that while CST could provide reliable renewable energy on demand, further investigation and funding is needed for the technology to achieve commercialisation in Australia. While solar thermal plants operate more like traditional fossil fuel plants than wind turbines or solar PV farms, Frischknecht said, CST has not yet reached a point where it is cost-competitive with other forms of new-build power generation.

Frischknecht said ARENA has played a key role in supporting the commercialisation of emerging technologies, noting, “Our large-scale solar PV competitive round proved that the cost of renewable energy technologies can be reduced significantly with targeted efforts. We’re ready to explore whether the same success is possible for the development of CST in Australia.”

ARENA is currently requesting information from prospective industry participants on the costs and benefits of 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. 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 can cover all types of CST technology and project sizes, though they should not exceed a written submission of 20 pages. Respondents should outline:

• the nature of their interest in CST (for example, as an investor, developer, technology provider, off-taker or regulator);
• their experience with CST;
• their view of CST’s potential value proposition relative to other renewable generation technologies;
• any preferences with respect to firm generation profile and potential value uplift for that purpose;
• regulatory, commercial, market or technical barriers and opportunities facing CST;
• environmental considerations in CST deployment;
• their views of the key risks in CST projects and how they might be best mitigated;
• preferred energy and renewable energy certificate offtake arrangements;
• factors differentiating such projects from other technology solutions; and
• any other information the respondent feels may be relevant to the ARENA and CEFC’s consideration as to how best to support the deployment of CST.

Where respondents are considering potential roles as CST project developers or contractors, respondents are invited to outline their views of:

• the optimal maximum and minimum CST project sizing (rated capacity, storage hours), location and dispatch profile;
• the expected capital and operating costs of deploying the optimal project;
• expected areas of future capital and operating cost reduction (local and international replication) by, for example: anticipated technology improvements; anticipated capital cost reductions; potential to develop the local supply chain; and future labour savings and risk margin savings in delivery;
• expected local content and the potential for local industry development;
• expected annual energy output;
• likely construction and commissioning time frames; and
• potential grid impacts.

Responses and enquiries should be emailed to proposals@arena.gov.au by 5 pm, 31 July.