Vast Renewables has secured up to $180 million of conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for construction of its Port Augusta utility-scale clean energy project, Vast Solar 1 (VS1).
Deploying Vast’s next generation concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) solution, VS1 is set to be one of Australia’s first projects to provide urgently needed long-duration renewable energy storage and generation.
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The project capitalises on peak pricing periods after sunset when intermittent renewables like solar PV are not available, delivering reliable, on-demand clean power to South Australia’s grid.
Vast’s award-winning technology has the potential to play a critical role in powering the global energy transition. The technology is designed to deliver round-the-clock, affordable carbon free power and heat that is needed to decarbonise the grid, fuels production for shipping and aviation, specialist industries such as data centres, and hard-to-abate industries like mining and refining.
Capital expenditures to complete construction of VS1 are currently estimated to be in the range of $360-390 million. Vast has completed front-end engineering design (FEED) and commercial development, and is working to deliver the additional investment in VS1 and Vast for the construction and commissioning period, necessary to allow a final investment decision and construction to begin in 2025.
Vast CEO Craig Wood said, “Our clean energy solutions are exactly what Australia and the world needs to accelerate the energy transition.
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“By providing green, affordable electricity on-demand when other renewables are not available to power homes, industry and fuels production, we deliver the missing piece of the puzzle.
“Our technology leverages Australia’s natural resources, skills and innovation and we are thrilled to have the continued strong support of ARENA and the Australian Government on this journey.”
