Australian solar hydro technology firm RayGen Resources Pty Ltd has secured funding for its innovative project at Carwarp in Victoria that will feature 4 MW of solar and 3 MW/50 MWh of storage capacity.
The company said today it has completed a AUD-42-million (USD 32.5m/EUR 26.7m) Series C capital raise, obtaining AUD 27 million from private investors and AUD 15 million in grant funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The funding includes strategic investments by AGL Energy (ASX:AGL), Photon Energy NV (WSE:PEN), Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX), alongside new and existing investors.
RayGen will use the funds to build, commission and operate the Carwarp project, which is expected to come online in 12 months.
The first-of-its-kind project combines RayGen’s concentrating photovoltaic (PV) solar co-generation tower with its electro-thermal storage. The system includes two reservoirs, one of which is kept hot and the other cold. The temperature difference is exploited to generate dispatchable electricity via Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbines.
“Much like combining pumped hydro and a traditional solar farm, RayGen’s technology can provide longer duration firming for renewable energy generation,” explained ARENA chief executive Darren Miller. “We are particularly interested in the potential for RayGen’s technology to deliver firmed renewable energy at a very competitive cost,” Miller added.
Utility AGL has agreed to offtake the plant’s output.
AGL said that a pre-feasibility study is underway for using the technology at the Liddell coal-fired power station in New South Wales.
“We believe the technology can be just as successful in the Hunter region and a key feature of our plans to transition the Liddell site into an Energy Hub, alongside grid-scale batteries and a waste to energy facility,” said AGL interim managing director and chief executive Graeme Hunt.
RayGen will also use the funding to design and build a new module manufacturing line with an annual capacity of 100 MW, expanding its existing capacity to 125 MW, as well as support the development of a pipeline of more than 1 GWh of projects to financial close.
(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.775/EUR 0.637)
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Source: RayGen Resources Pty Ltd (www.raygen.com)
