Weekly Intelligence Brief

New plant makes progress in Whyalla

9 July 2009

Construction work for the Whyalla Solar Oasis solar thermal power plant in Australia has started.

According to a report filed by AdelaideNow, the plant will initially comprise four “Big Dishes”. The long-term plan is for 600 dishes to be built, each 500 sq. m in area, in a 2km by 1km area. The report also highlighted that the $15 million plant will again put South Australia’s regional areas at the forefront of sustainable and emission-free energy production.

In May 2007, the Australian Government acknowledged the significance and commercial potential for the ammonia-dissociation solar energy storage system with a grant of A$7.4 million under the Advanced Electricity Storage Technology programme. This funding contributed to the Whyalla Solar Oasis demonstration project.

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