How it works

At 100 MW in capacity, the Project Wentworth plant will be among the largest Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants in the world. Based on power tower technology, this advanced system captures the solar radiation and stores the energy, in the form of heat, to be transformed into electricity when needed. Located in Wentworth, in South Western NSW, this is an answer to Australia’s need for affordable, reliable, 24 hour a day renewable electricity.

This large-scale renewable power plant is a most needed addition to the Australian power grid. Operating similarly to a conventional coal plant but with greater flexibility, this system offers generation on demand and provides stability services like frequency and voltage control to a power grid with increasing penetration of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV). The plant will create local jobs, including 1500 direct jobs during construction and 40 during operation. It will also act as a tourism drawcard for the area and it will help kickstart the uptake of CSP systems in Australia.

Located on ‘’Netherby” approximately 10 km north of Wentworth, the site of the plant is in an ideal location that combines great solar resources with a strategic position in the National Electricity System. It is close to existing electricity transmission assets and in particular will be close to the new ‘EnergyConnect’ interconnector that will join SA with NSW and VIC.

CSP plants are a proven technology already implemented worldwide. They produce electricity the same way as fossil fuel power plants – by creating high-temperature, high-pressure steam to turn a conventional turbine. Instead of fossil fuels, they use energy from the sun. Thousands of software-controlled mirrors track the sun and reflect the sunlight to a receiver that sits atop a central tower. The heat is stored in tanks to allow generation day and night as required.

CSP plants with built in thermal energy storage are a key technology that can allow countries like Australia to achieve 100% zero emissions electricity generation as existing coal plants retire progressively over the next two decades. By being the first of its kind in Australia, Project Wentworth plant can act as a precursor for larger CSP developments in the future years.

The first plant of this kind in Australia, the technology to be used in Project Wentworth concentrates the heat from the sun to reach temperatures close to 600ºC, stores it in molten salt tanks and uses it to produce power in a steam turbine.

Thanks to its energy storage capabilities, the plant will be able to generate power when the national grid needs it most, on demand. Using a steam turbine with a synchronous generator also will help stabilise the grid.

The 100 MW Project Wentworth plant is expected to produce 400,000 MWh of clean electricity every year. Almost 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will be avoided over the 30 year lifecycle of the project, the equivalent of taking 120,000 cars off the road.