CSP World

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has finally committed to fund a feasibility study to replace or hybridize a couple of coal-fired power plants in Port Augusta, South Australia, with Concentrated Solar Power.

ARENA will contribute with $1 million for the study while Alinta, the plant's owner will invest $1.2 million and the South Australia Government will contribute with $132,000.

The study will seek to assess a CSP only and a hybrid approach for the project. It's expected to be concluded by April 2016.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the feasibility study would provide an exciting opportunity to progress solar thermal in Australia. "ARENA is pleased to contribute $1 million to this project which will help advance our knowledge of the potential for solar thermal power generation in the region,” Frischknecht said.

“Tapping into our plentiful solar resources will ensure renewables are well placed to contribute to electricity generation in Australia". “This latest partnership is an important step in our renewables journey – it complements existing solar thermal projects in Australia and will help create a framework of research, development and demonstration", Frischknecht added.

The replacement of the Northern and the Playford B coal power stations with renewable energy, mainly CSP, is being demanded by a vast group of citizens and organizations since some years ago, headed by the Repower Port Augusta community group.

The Repower Port Augusta Alliance has welcomed the decision, but disagree with the hybrid option , “our community welcomes this study but we need our state politicians to make it clear if they will make funding available for the critical next stage: actually building a solar thermal plant” but, “a solar-coal hybrid is just putting an old polluting power station on life support", said Lisa Lumsden, chairperson of Repower Port Augusta.

“This funding demonstrates just how serious and close the opportunity of solar thermal in Port Augusta is, but our politicians need to make sure we are ready to grasp it by committing funding to a project that will create jobs, clean air and be great for our state” Lumsden said.