Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plant.

19 February 2025

ALAN HAYES

 

THE Energy Security Corporation is seeded with $1 billion to help build a more reliable energy system. It will work with the private sector to plug investment gaps in the market, ensuring NSW homes and businesses can enjoy the benefits of renewable energy.

 

The key priorities for investment include short to long-duration storage projects that capture excess renewable energy, to maximise use of electricity generated from solar and wind.

 

It will also cover projects that will upgrade infrastructure to ensure smooth operation of the grid coordinate and consumer energy resources in households, businesses and the community (such as virtual power plants).

 

The Energy Security Corporation will co-invest with the private sector on energy storage projects such as:

 

• Large-scale batteries

• Large-scale batteries store surplus energy generated by renewable sources like wind and solar, and release it when renewable generation is low or when demand for energy peaks.

 

• Community batteries

• A community battery is a shared battery installed in a central location within a neighbourhood that can store excess solar energy generated from homes in a community. The stored energy can then be shared with other homes in the community when demand is high, like in the evening or when its cloudy.

 

• Pumped hydro

• Hydro energy uses the force of moving water to create electricity. Hydro energy is capable of rapidly providing power on-demand, to supply electricity to consumers when it is needed.

 

• Virtual Power Plant (VPP)

• A Virtual Power Plant is a network that can connect your rooftop solar and battery to other participating homes and coordinate them, allowing them to work together. This means that if there’s a shortage of energy supply in the grid, the virtual power plant can draw on the collective energy to fill the gap. This can earn participating homes a profit from their excess energy.

 

However, government continues to ignore the world trend to providing 24/7 clean, green base-load power to the grid from Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP).

 

A roundup of CSP projects globally reports 143 CSP projects, with another 3859 MW of projects under construction.

 

The USA and Spain are global leaders in CSP electricity generation, whereas developing countries such as China and India are emerging by aggressive investment.

 

The International Energy Agency expects the global CSP fleet to reach 73 GW by 2030, 281 GW by 2040, and 426 GW by 2050. The driving force? CSP's unique ability to store energy overnight.

 

And what about Australia? To date, there has been very little use of CSP within the Australian electricity network. The CSIRO have, however, a pilot facility in Newcastle and there is a CSP plant in South Australia.

 

In Port Augusta, South Australia, ARENA is backing Vast Energy's Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Project - a first-of-a-kind. Expected to enter commercial operation later this year, the project seeks to demonstrate the technical and operational viability of the technology at utility scale.

 

CSP has the potential to contribute over the longer term to an overall reliable, affordable electricity system with a high share of renewable energy - so why aren't our governments investing more into 24/7 green power.

 

Yet Minister for Energy, Penny Sharpe said yesterday, “NSW will invest $1 billion in critical projects to deliver more affordable, clean and reliable energy to homes and businesses across the state.

 

“After a decade of privatisation, the Energy Security Corporation gives the people of NSW the chance to invest in their energy system."

 

So, if the people of NSW are being given the chance to invest in their energy system, why isn't CSP on the table?

Name (First & Last):

Email:

Submitting Form...

The server encountered an error.

Subscription received.

SUBSCRIBE