Australian solar thermal power (CSP) company Vast Solar has awarded key engineering contracts for its VS1 CSP project to global engineering firm Worley.
VS1 is a 30MW/288MWh CSP plant being built in Port Augusta, South Australia. Utilising Vast’s proprietary modular tower CSP v3.0 technology, VS1 will generate clean, low-cost, dispatchable power with over eight hours of thermal energy storage. The project will create dozens of green manufacturing jobs, hundreds of jobs during construction and long-term plant operations roles.
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Vast has appointed Worley and its specialist consulting division, Advisian, to complete VS1 basic engineering by July 2023, followed by front-end engineering design (FEED) in the balance of this calendar year. Construction of VS1 is on track to begin in 2024.
“With strong expertise in CSP, Worley and Advisian are the ideal engineering partners for VS1, which will utilise our industry-leading technology to capture and store the sun’s energy during the day before generating heat and dispatchable power during the day or night,” Vast CEO Craig Wood said.
“Vast has a long-standing relationship with Worley and Advisian dating back to assistance with the engineering and commissioning of our 1.1MW grid connected Jemalong demonstration plant.
“Their skill in integrating our technology with major packages to be delivered by key equipment partners from around the world will allow VS1 to progress towards FID late this year.”
Vast’s proprietary CSP v3.0 technology has received significant support from the Australian government. Most recently, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced it has approved up to $65 million in funding to support construction of VS1.
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VS1 will be co-located with Solar Methanol 1 (SM1), a world-first green methanol demonstration plant which, in February, was selected to receive AUD$19.48 million and EUR13.2 million from a collaboration between the Australian and German governments, respectively.
SM1 will use zero emissions dispatchable electricity and heat from VS1 to produce green methanol for use as a sustainable shipping fuel.
