$600m solar power plant and thermal technology proposed for Mount Isa

Australian company Vast Solar is looking to develop a 50MW power plant that will deliver a jobs boom for the area, including hundreds of construction jobs during the two-year project build and dozens of permanent, highly skilled operational jobs.

The plant will combine solar PV, a large-scale battery and gas engines with Vast Solar's own concentrated solar thermal power technology, using mirrors and receiving towers to gather and store the sun's energy. These integrated generators will reliably deliver dispatchable clean energy 24 hours a day.

The plant will produce 85 per cent clean energy and use significantly less fuel than current generators. Lower fuel costs and the plant's 30 year operational life mean the $600m upfront investment will deliver significantly cheaper energy than alternate baseload generation options over the lifetime of the project.

Vast Solar CEO Craig Wood said they'd been delighted with the positive discussions had with political leaders, industry and the local community.

"If we get the green light to progress, we will be a long-term partner of Mount Isa and the surrounding area, creating jobs and tangible benefits that will last for the lifetime of the plant," Mr Wood said.

"Total investment in the plant is expected to be in excess of $600m and we are committed to using local suppliers where possible.

"Our plant will deliver new generation to the local electricity market at a lower cost than current power plants. This will ensure local mining and smelting operations can access reliable low-cost energy that also reduces their emissions - a key focus for resources companies."

Vast Solar is currently in discussion with investors and major energy users in the area whose backing will be critical for the project.

Mr Wood said a location for the project had been chosen, 10 kilometres west of Mount Isa.

"It is the other side of the Glencore operation. We spent quite a bit of time looking around Mount Isa for the right site," Mr Wood said.

"We needed a combination of flat land and and not too many rocks, and there are not to many places that fit that build in the area.

"We have completed a pre-feasibility study and in the process of moving through to a feasibility study. That detail will take us about 6 months, so we are working towards a financial close of late in the first quarter or second quarter next year.

"From there it is a two year build program, bringing it to 2023 before you get the renewable energy and cost reductions in electricity prices flowing through to customers."

Following the announced closure of Mica Creek Power Station, Mr Wood said it opened an unexpected hole in the market

"Mica Creek Power Plant is a 50MW so the closure of that power station actually creates an opening in the market for a 50MW power station, exactly the sort that we are proposing," Mr Wood said.

"The hole in the market wasn't expected, it just kind of happened and it provides an opportunity for us to come in and build our asset that we are proposing."

Mount Isa City Council mayor Danielle Slade was pleased with the proposal and said it is exactly the type of project that the community needed.

"With clear, sunny skies for most of the year and an extra hour of sunlight to the rest of Queensland, Mount Isa is the ideal area in which to locate it," Cr Slade said.

"Our local industries are crying out for affordable electricity and, coupled with the CopperString 2.0 project, this solar initiative will help to make that happen.

"As well as bringing direct employment opportunities, it will indirectly safeguard many other jobs by generating competitively priced, low-emissions electricity that can power local businesses and resources operations, making Mount Isa an even more attractive city in which to live and invest. We will be working closely with Vast Solar to help them realise their exciting vision."

With the potential development of CopperString 2.0 in North Queensland, Mr Wood said Vast Solar was in discussions with the company to discuss how the two proposals compliment each other.

"We believe that our project will be complimentary with theirs," Mr Wood said.

"The reality is, if they are able to deliver energy to Mount Isa, that is cheaper then the gas we have in our plant, then it will improve the economics of our plant.

"It also helps CopperString's case to have generators with turbines, like we are proposing, connected into their line and helps manage the voltage and frequency and other electrical elements that they need to manage.

"Also in the medium term, we are pretty excited about having proper transmission connecting all of that sunny country between Mount Isa and Hughenden to the grid. Because that means we can look at building subsequent solar plants that are able to operate at night and sell energy back into the grid at low cost."

Solar thermal technology is identified in the Federal Government's recently released Australian Technology Investment Roadmap as a critical part of the country's future dispatchable clean energy mix.

Vast Solar's Australia-made technology has been successfully deployed at its pilot project in regional NSW which has been grid-connected since 2018. The pilot project created dozens of jobs and injected over $5,000,000 into the local economy.

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