SYDNEY, Australia, April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vast Renewables Limited (Vast) (Nasdaq: VSTE) and 1414 Degrees Limited (ASX:14D), through their joint venture SiliconAurora Pty Ltd (SiliconAurora), today announced the signing of a term sheet (Term Sheet) with Vast Solar 1 Pty Ltd and OZ Minerals Services Pty Ltd (OZM), a subsidiary of BHP Group Limited (BHP), to enter into negotiations with OZM for a possible binding agreement (Agreement) by 30 September 2024 (which date can be extended by mutual consent) (Agreement Date) that would facilitate access for the initial stages of the Aurora Energy Precinct (the Precinct) to the ElectraNet owned Hill-to-Hill Transmission Line (H2H) near Port Augusta, South Australia.
The Precinct is owned by SiliconAurora, which plans to develop a 140MW (2 hour) battery energy storage system (BESS) on the site.
Additionally, Vast plans to develop Vast Solar 1 (VS1), a 30MW concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plant with 288 MWh of thermal storage, on the Precinct site. VS1 was awarded up to AUD $65 million in conditional grant funding by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). VS1 will be co-located with Vast's planned Solar Methanol 1 (SM1) project, a green methanol demonstration plant led by Vast and German integrated energy giant Mabanaft, which has been awarded up to AUD $19.48 million and up to EUR 13.2 million of conditional grant funding from a collaboration between the Australian and German Governments, respectively.
The BESS and VS1 are planned to connect to the H2H, providing clean, reliable energy to power Australian homes and businesses. Connection to the H2H will be subject to further negotiations and agreement with OZM and ElectraNet as contemplated under the Term Sheet. The Term Sheet also contains certain termination scenarios including if OZM, in its absolute discretion, is not satisfied with the risks associated with the proposed connections to the H2H following a technical engineering review.
Vast's CEO Craig Wood said, "Decarbonizing Australia's electricity supply requires that dispatchable renewable energy with long duration storage like that provided by Vast's proprietary CSP v.3.0 technology be integrated into the Australian electricity grid. Execution of this Term Sheet is an important step forward, and we are looking forward to continuing discussions with BHP to agree commercial and technical terms so we can progress the Precinct."
澳大利亞悉尼，2024年4月8日（環球新聞專線）——Vast Renewables Limited（Vast）（納斯達克股票代碼：VSTE）和1414度有限公司（澳大利亞證券交易所股票代碼：14D）今天宣佈與Vast Solar 1 Pty Ltd和BB的子公司OZ Minerals Services Pty Ltd（OZM）簽署條款表（條款表）必和必拓集團有限公司（BHP）將在2024年9月30日之前（經雙方同意可以延期）（協議日期）與OZM就可能的具有約束力的協議（協議）進行談判，這將爲準入提供便利從奧羅拉能源區（以下簡稱 “專區”）到南澳大利亞奧古斯塔港附近的ElectraNet擁有的山對山輸電線路（H2H）的初始階段。
該區域歸SiliconaUrora所有，該公司計劃在該場地上開發140兆瓦（2小時）的電池儲能系統（BESS）。
此外，Vast計劃在Precinct場地上開發Vast Solar 1（VS1），這是一座30兆瓦的聚光太陽能熱發電（CSP）發電廠，蓄熱量爲288兆瓦時。澳大利亞可再生能源署（ARENA）向VS1提供了高達6500萬澳元的有條件撥款。VS1將與Vast計劃的太陽能甲醇1（SM1）項目同地辦公，該項目是由Vast和德國綜合能源巨頭Mabanaft牽頭的綠色甲醇示範工廠，該項目已分別獲得澳大利亞和德國政府合作提供的高達1,948萬澳元和高達1,320萬歐元的有條件補助資金。
BESS和VS1計劃連接H2H，爲澳大利亞家庭和企業提供清潔、可靠的能源。根據條款表的設想，與H2H的連接將取決於與OZM和ElectraNet的進一步談判和協議。條款表還包含某些終止情景，包括OZM是否在進行技術工程審查後自行決定對與H2H的擬議連接相關的風險不滿意。
Vast首席執行官克雷格·伍德說：“實現澳大利亞電力供應的脫碳需要將可調度的可長期存儲的可調度可再生能源，例如Vast專有的CSP v.3.0技術提供的可調度可再生能源，集成到澳大利亞電網中。本條款表的執行是向前邁出的重要一步，我們期待與必和必拓繼續進行討論，以商定商業和技術條款，以便我們能夠推進該分區的發展。”
