Vast Renewables has signed an updated funding agreement to access up to $30 million of its existing $65 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The funding will support Vast’s green technology manufacturing and project development activities as it deploys its next generation concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) solution to deliver clean, dispatchable power and heat.
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CSP is an obvious technology to deploy in Australia’s energy transition in one of the sunniest countries on earth. By capturing and storing the sun’s energy as heat, CSP can power homes, industry and transport with green, reliable and affordable energy.
The technology’s dispatchable capacity will be a critical complement to intermittent solar PV and wind in Australia’s energy mix, delivering longer-lasting power that’s cost effective when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Vast has pioneered the next generation of proprietary CSP technology, promising superior performance at lower cost and risk. It has a global pipeline of projects that will help to decarbonise electricity generation and power the production of green methanol and sustainable aviation fuels.
Proven at its grid-connected pilot project in New South Wales, Vast’s leading technology is set to be deployed at utility-scale at Vast Solar 1 (VS1), a 30MW power plant with 8 hours of storage located in the Port Augusta Green Energy Hub, South Australia.
Vast’s Port Augusta utility-scale CSP project will generate clean, dispatchable electricity which will be sold into the National Electricity Market, and it will help to power a world-first co-located green methanol production facility, Solar Methanol 1 (SM1), also being developed by Vast. A real world, in-demand application for hydrogen, green methanol has the potential to decarbonise shipping and is already being used to power major container vessels.
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Vast’s internationally awarded, Australian-made technology is currently produced at its Queensland facility. ARENA’s funding will see Vast scale up its Australian green technology manufacturing to supply VS1 and future projects.
The $30 million funding will also support Vast in the final project development activities ahead of final investment decision on VS1 in early 2025.
