Plans for $1bn solar energy plant - A Spanish company intends to build one of the largest solar thermal plants here

Australian
Tuesday 16/3/2010 Page: 25

A SPANISH energy and construction giant is seeking commonwealth support to build a $1 billion, 250MW solar power plant in Australia, one of the largest in the world. Cobra Energy, a branch of the multinational industrial conglomerate ACS, has functioning baseload solar stations in Andalucia and Extremadura in Spain and hopes to build a larger version here. Although the plant would have just a sixth of the capacity of a typical, large coal-fired power station, it would be one of the largest "solar thermal" plants in the world.

Cobra has applied for funding under the Rudd government's $1.5bn solar flagships program, which aims to foster 400MW of solar energy generation in Australia. Half is expected to be solar thermal, it which energy is used to boil water and then generate electricity, and half photovoltaic solar, where electricity is produced directly. Cobra Energy's Australian chief, Alan Atchison, said the company would team up with local constructor John Holland in its bid. He said Cobra's advantage was its proven ability to provide baseload power through using molten salts as a energy storage medium, as it does in its Spanish plants.

The Spanish plants are able to continue generating for 7.5 hours after sunset by using excess solar energy stored in the molten salts during the day. Baseload is the amount of power required to meet minimum demands. Mr Atchison said a 250MW plant would involve capital expenditure of about $1bn, of which a company of ACS/Cobra's size could easily provide its $666 million share. "You need really strong, liquid, resourceful companies for these ventures," he said.

Mr Atchison said Cobra had selected three sites for its proposed Australian plant: one near Mildura, in Victoria, and two in Queensland, one of which is near Dalby, west of Brisbane. He said the company had been speaking to the Victorian and Queensland governments and would finalise the preferred location according to its suitability, the requirements of the program and the level of assistance supplied by the relevant state government.

"None of the numbers we have proposed so far have worried the state people we have spoken to so far," Mr Atchison said. The Commonwealth wants to develop renewable energy sources to meet its target of 20% renewable energy by 2020. So far wind has been the main growth area, although it has required consumer subsidies through the sale of renewable energy certificates to make it viable and it cannot offer baseload capacity. Solar, so far, is even more costly per MWh than wind, but is viewed with great promise in Australia because of the strength of the sun.

The solar flagships program is designed to subsidise a large-scale solar plant to demonstrate the technology can work as a viable energy source. Mr Atchison said Cobra was buoyed by comments from federal Energy and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson that the Commonwealth was placing priority on baseload capacity. "Now, wind power will grow, as will gas initially, but our real objective is to actually test the other technologies," Mr Ferguson said last week. "If we're going to have real progress in reducing emissions in Australia and.., a reliable energy system, it's based on baseload capacity.

For our solar flagships we're actually going to test whether we can prove up baseload reliable solar energy in Australia under the government program." Cobra believes other bidders for the solar flagship program are likely to include Spanish-based Abengoa Solar and Acciona Energy, as well as BrightSource Energy. The winning bidders (one solar thermal and one photovoltaic) in the first round of the solar flagships program will be announced this year.

Solar plants under construction around the world:

• ACS-Cobra: and the Soul 1 and Andasol 1 and 2. 100 MW baseload (plans for another 200 MW). Extrasol 1, Spain, 50 MW baseload (another 100 MW under construction), and Manchasol 1 and 2, Spain, 100 MW baseload under construction.
• Abengoa: Solucar, Spain, 100 MW capacity plus 200 MW under construction. Solana, US, 280 MW capacity.
• NextEra Energy Resources: Solar Energy Generating Systems network, US, 354 MW.
• Acciona Solar Power: Nevada, Solar One, US, 64 MW capacity.
• BrightSource: Ivanpah, US, 400 MW of capacity with construction to begin this year pending approval.
• Torresol Energy: Gemasolar and Valle 1 and 2, Spain, 117 MW of base load capacity under construction.