Wary eye on solar plan

A $ 1.3 BILLION concentrated solar thermal power station similar to one developed in the United States and capable of providing 2000 construction jobs has been proposed for Townsville.

The proposal, by Australian company CWP Renewables, has been endorsed by the Labor State Government and “cautiously” welcomed by development body Townsville Enterprise.

A solar thermal power station was developed in Nevada near Las Vegas in 2015 but only recently came back on line after closing when a molten salt tank sprung a leak.

CWP says it is investigating a 250MW capacity project but is yet to settle on whether to use molten salt or graphite to store heat. It is considering three sites near Townsville but says it is too early to give an exact location.

“This Concentrated Solar Thermal project can deliver dispatchable, emissions- free power to North Queensland, together with thousands of high value jobs which utilise the existing skills of the North Queensland workforce, ” CWP Renewables managing director Alex Hewitt said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced a reelected Labor government would make a $ 50 million “down payment” towards a solar thermal plant but did not say it would necessarily back CWP’s plan.

Ms Palaszczuk said there were “a number of ( solar thermal) proposals currently in the market”.

Townsville Enterprise economic policy director Michael McMillan said CWP had approached them about two months ago and they wanted to learn more about the proposal and the technology.

“Until we gain further insight and detail as to the project, the site, technology and structure of the facility, we will be cautiously optimistic,” Mr McMillan said. CWP said the project had an indicative cost of $ 1.3 billion and would create more than 2000 jobs during a two- year construction, encompassing civil works, the installation of thousands of tracking mirrors, the installation of thermal receiver towers, thermal storage tanks and piping, and the construction of a new electrical substation.

Over 50 operations and maintenance jobs would be created at the facilities.

Concentrated solar thermal power works by concentrating heat from the sun using mirrors and a thermal receiver and then storing the heat in molten salt or graphite blocks which is then used to produce steam to power a turbine.

CWP has financed $ 2.9 billion of renewable energy projects worldwide and is active in wind, solar PV, solar thermal and hybrid energy microgrids.

If they proceed, Mr Hewitt said development would occur from mid- 2019 with a commissioning in 2021.