Silex Systems wraps up 1.5-MW demo CPV project in Australia

Jun 24, 2013 - Solar Systems Pty Ltd, a unit of Australian Silex Systems Ltd (ASX:SLX), said today it had powered up all concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) dish systems at a 1.5-MW demonstration installation in the state of Victoria.

The facility was built to demonstrate the company’s "Dense Array" CPV solar technology. The 1.5-MW CPV system and a similar 1-MW installation at the Nofa Equestrian Resort in Saudi Arabia, planned to reach completion later in 2013, will help validate performance efficiency, energy yields and reliability of Silex’s technology. Operations at the two sites will be observed for 12 months for that purpose.

The pilot CPV facility in Victoria is fully grid-connected and is producing enough power for some 500 local households, Silex said. All output will be sold to the local grid under a commercial power purchase agreement with Diamond Energy. Financing for the project included a grant from the Victorian State Government and additional financing from the Australian Federal Government.

As a next-phase development, Silex is working on a 100-MW solar project again for Mildura. It is now in the planning stage, with construction expected to kick off in late 2014 subject to the success of the demonstration facility and the wrap-up of funding deals.

Silex’s major aim is to reach a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of below AUD 0.10 (USD 0.09/EUR 0.07) per kWh with its technology. The company is already on the lookout for project opportunities of 10 MW to 50 MW in Australia. It is in the pre-feasibility stage at prospective sites in Queensland.

(AUD 1 = USD 0.921/EUR 0.703)

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