Once the pride of solar power — Australia abandons its 40-dish megaproject for this reason

Major innovations in the renewable world could potentially be described as the rollout of a polished demonstration in Australia in 2013, a 1.5 MW solar concentrator plant, close to Mildura, utilizing 40 pizza dishes. The promise? To scale the miracle into a 100 MW solar giant. However, by August 2014, such expansion plans were called off. So what became of the dream that was the solar future of Australia?

The bold vision and rise of the 40-Dish Demonstration

The Mildura Solar Concentrator Power Station started as a promise of technology. Their proposed project, Solar Systems, was offered back in 2006 and to emit the power of CPV, whereby mirrored dishes focus sunlight on small-spectacle photovoltaic cells of incremental proficiency and diminished upkeep.

By 2013, a demonstration plant of 1.5 MW had been built with 40 advanced CS500 dishes (as a 40 2 m diameter array) 40 and successfully connected to the electricity grid. This pilot program was a success, leading to a 100 MW program which was to begin in 2014 and conclude by 2017.

This state-of-the-art CPV array was not only a breakthrough in the engineering world, but it was a bold idea of how renewable energy could be in the future in Australia. The Dense Array system of Silex that could convert solar to electricity at a rate of about 43 percent nearly doubled the performance of standard silicon panels and pointed to utility-scale breakthroughs in solar.

The conditions that led to the expansion being scrapped

Unfavorable economic and regulatory winds had subdued the expansion, even with the promise of technology. The project was officially dropped in August 2014 by Silex Systems (formerly Solar Systems). The previous low wholesale prices of electricity, which had kept its high prices offered, also played a big role in this because the implementation was also expensive to the economy, like the 15-kilometer tunnel discovery, that has to stop after some unprecedented findings. 

More importantly, uncertainty relating to the politics of Australia in relation to the RET posed a severe threat to investor confidence. Moreover, given that the federal government had already been reviewing (and seems set to cut or perhaps even scrap) the target, both the federal Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA; A$75 million) and the state of Victoria (A$35 million) withdrew their funding. 

Eventually, it was reported by The Guardian that when there was a rumor that the RET was being dismantled, the project was being stopped, although Silex claimed that they still had interest in developing the site in some manner.

Major takeaways for future renewable megaprojects

The failure of the full-scale version of the Mildura concentrator never came to pass, but its demise is invaluable as a warning lesson: innovative technology will not work without a significant economic and policy base. 

In the case of Solar Systems, which had to suspend the project, as the CEO commented, there was uncertainty over the Renewable Energy Target (RET) in Australia, thereby disrupting long-term investment strategies, meaning it cancelled A35 million of federal area support and A$75 million of state-supported support.

It is supported by longer trends: massive renewable investment in Australia has shrunk on average more than once, a more than fifty percent decline since 2018 to 2019, due to policy uncertainty and grid-connection delay. The fate of Mildura points to the fact that even the most promising energy project is unpredictable unless the government is unconditionally determined, predictable, and steady in the implementation of the regulation.

The example of a 40-dish solar project in Mildura, Australia, teaches a lesson about ambition and how it was destroyed by external forces. When announced as a hype and high expectation, the demonstrator ended up failing miserably in August 2014, not because of any mechanical reason, but as a result of poor economic status and political apprehensiveness towards it.  The story of the rise and fall of Mildura shows a basic fact: ambition must have more than vision; it must have certainty (just like this major discovery that froze an entire project).

Disclaimer: Our coverage of events affecting companies is purely informative and descriptive. Under no circumstances does it seek to promote an opinion or create a trend, nor can it be taken as investment advice or a recommendation of any kind.