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 concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) solution to deliver the clean, dispatchable power and heat that the world needs.
The support of the Australian Government has been key for Vast, which has the potential to be a catalyst for a domestic CSP industry and expects to export its green technology around the world to its global pipeline of projects.
“Unlocking this funding helps accelerate our Australian green technology manufacturing and the final stages of development for our first utility-scale project. ARENA’s backing has been pivotal, getting us to a point where we are garnering significant interest from investors, industry and international governments keen to explore how our technology can play a key role in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors including electricity, industry and fuels,” said Vast CEO Craig Wood.
“With the continued support of the Australian Government and our investors, we are looking forward to building our next projects, and to helping Australia become an export powerhouse for this next generation of green technology.”
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 critical 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 technology is set to be deployed at utility-scale at Vast Solar 1, 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. It is set to help to power a world-first co-located green methanol production facility, Solar Methanol 1, 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.
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 (FID) on VS1 in early 2025.
Vast’s Australian projects and manufacturing facility are anticipated to create dozens of green manufacturing and construction jobs, and long-term plant operations roles.
The $30 million non-dilutive grant will be released from $65 million of funding announced in February 2023 by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Hon Chris Bowen MP, and ARENA.
Construction of VS1 is anticipated to begin in Q2 2025, with capital expenditures estimated to be in the range of AUD360 million – $390 million.
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