The $650m Aurora Power Plant in South Australia is under threat as the US company Solar Reserve which will be responsible for building it haven’t raised the required funds. The solar thermal power plant was to generate 150MW of power and seemed in safe hands with Solar Reserve, who have previously constructed the 110MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project.
Aurora Power Plant – thermal power plant in SA
We’ve written about the Aurora solar thermal power plant before – they were able to receive DA in January this year and it appeared that everything was going well – but there appears to be a bit of trouble getting the final amount of funding over the line.
“Project funding is a lengthy process and we’ve made great progress having identified the necessary funding sources from commercial lenders and equity providers,” a spokesperson from Solar Reserve told 9NEWS.
At the same time, 9NEWS chased down energy minister Dan Van Holst Pellkaan for a statement – who subsequently advised that as far as the government is concerned, everything is copacetic: “What they’ve said is that as of yesterday, the project is still on track. They’ve certainly made it clear that they’re still seeking finance,” Mr Van Holst Pellkaan said.
The project already has a 20 year PPA signed and a $110m loan from the federal government (contingent on them raising the other ~$540m) so it’s got most of the pieces of the puzzle in place. 9NEWS have reported that as of last month 60% of the necessary funds have been raised, but they’re still looking for someone to come on board and stump up a significant amount of cash (~$250m) so that the project can receive its loan from the federal government in addition to the other $540m and get this project off the ground.
Fingers crossed that we don’t see any significant delay and the world’s biggest single-tower solar thermal power plant is finished quickly!
