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    Vast Progresses on Developing 288 MWh Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plant in South Australia with Engineering Contracts

    April 17, 2024
    VS1 will generate clean, low-cost, dispatchable power with over 8 hours of thermal energy storage through the utilization of Vast’s proprietary modular tower CSP v3.0 technology
    Vast Renewables
    661ff8e18e133f001f7ba19b Vast Renewables

    Vast Renewables, a renewable energy company specializing in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems generating zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity, and industrial process heat, has executed crucial engineering contracts with Afry, FYFE, Primero, and Worley for Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) on its VS1 project.

    The VS1 project is a 30MW/ 288MWh CSP plant located in Port Augusta, South Australia. 

    VS1 will generate clean, low-cost, dispatchable power with over 8 hours of thermal energy storage through the utilization of Vast’s proprietary modular tower CSP v3.0 technology. The project is anticipated to create dozens of green manufacturing jobs, hundreds of jobs during construction, and several long-term plant operations roles. 

    "This is a major step forward for Vast and VS1, putting this historic CSP project on the path to construction. Afry, FYFE, Primero, and Worley will bring the right combination of global and local expertise to VS1, which will utilize our technology to capture and store the sun’s energy during the day before generating heat and dispatchable power during the day or night," said Craig Wood, Vast CEO. 

    The proprietary CSP v3.0 technology has received support from the Australian Government, including the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which has approved up to $41.71 million in funding to support the construction of VS1. 

    VS1 will be co-located with Solar Methanol 1 (SM1), a green methanol demonstration plant. SM1 will use zero-emissions dispatchable electricity and heat from VS1 to produce green methanol, which can be used as a sustainable shipping fuel.  

    FEED is expected to be completed by August 2024 ahead of a Final Investment Decision in Q3 2024, and construction will begin in late 2024.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.