Australia’s biggest solar power plant is one step closer to completion after the Victorian Coalition government announced a $10 million grant to Solar Systems, a subsidiary of Silex Systems Pty Ltd, towards Stage Two of its Large-Scale Solar Power Generation Demonstration Project, near Mildura in the state’s northwest.
The funding was dependent on the successful demonstration of Stage One of the project, a 600 kilowatt “Dense Array” concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) plant at Bridgewater, completed in June this year at a cost of $5 million.
Last week Energy and Resources Minister Michael O’Brien inspected the Bridgewater facility, officially signing the grant deed for Stage Two. This stage will see two-megawatts of solar capacity added to the plant, with an additional 1.5-megawatt solar farm to be built at Mildura. This will provide the groundwork for a 100-megawatt plant in Stage Three of the project.
The Victorian Government has committed $50 million to the Large-Scale Solar Power Generation Demonstration Project, saying it will create highly skilled green sector jobs and provide clean energy for up to 35,000 homes.
“The Coalition Government is supporting a range of investments in energy technology to create improved ways of providing energy to Victorian families and businesses with low or no greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr O’Brien said.
“This funding takes Solar Systems one step closer to its planned development of a large scale solar power plant in Mildura that could provide enough electricity to power more than 35,000 households and create high skill local jobs.”
According to Silex Systems, the technology used in the Mildura plant is at the forefront of utility-scale solar power generation. By employing triple-junction solar cells which are able to track the sun during the day, the Mildura site will be capable of operating at over 40 per cent conversion efficiency claims the company - roughly double the efficiency of today’s best silicon-based cells.
The Large-Scale Solar Power Generation Demonstration Project, or LSPGD, is co-funded by Silex Systems Ltd. and the Federal Government.
