Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project
Queensland is set to be home to the world-leading Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project, the largest solar thermal project in the southern hemisphere.
The $98 million project will incorporate solar thermal technology into CS Energy’s Kogan Creek Power Station near Dalby in south west Queensland.
The solar thermal addition is expected to increase the station’s capacity by up to 44 megawatts under peak solar conditions and improve plant fuel efficiency.
Do the bright thing - help build a virtual solar power station for Queensland
Bright ideas, like the Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project, are helping to build a virtual solar power station for Queensland. Already we have doubled Queensland's use of solar energy in less that two years -that's more than three years ahead of schedule. You can contribute to this target too by doing the bright thing and installing a solar hot water system or solar PV system on your home.
What will the Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project achieve?
Solar installations such as Kogan Creek will help to lessen the impacts of climate change and reduce our reliance on conventional energy generation. The installation will provide enough electricity to power an additional 5000 homes, while also improving Kogan Creek’s fuel efficiency and reducing the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project will also enhance the conventional feedwater process at Kogan Creek. Currently it uses steam from the turbine to preheat water entering the boiler.
Solar technology will be used to help preheat the station’s feedwater, thereby freeing up more turbine steam for the electricity generation process. The solar boost will enable Kogan Creek to produce more electricity with the same amount of coal.
The Australian and Queensland governments are leading the world in the integration of solar energy into coal fired power stations.
AREVA, a solar thermal technology provider, teamed up with CS Energy to provide the Kogan Creek solar thermal addition. The technology was conceived in Australia and is in use at a pilot plant at Liddell Power Station in New South Wales and at a standalone 5 megawatt solar power plant in California. The Kogan Creek Solar Boost is the first commercial solar project to use this technology in Australia.
Following the finalisation of front-end engineering and design, construction at Kogan Creek is scheduled for the second half of 2010. The project expected to be operational by 2012.
What is solar thermal energy?
Solar thermal energy turns the sun's heat energy into electricity.
This requires direct sunlight to be concentrated and collected by Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, which turn the sun's energy into medium-to-high temperature heat. This heat is then used to create steam that drives a conventional steam turbine generator to produce electricity. Visit the Queensland’s Energy Futures website to view an animation of how solar thermal energy works.
Find out more
Think the Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project is a really bright idea?
- Find out more about the Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project
- Find out about installing solar panels and solar hot water in your home
- Download the printable version of this information
Last updated 12 October 2011
Other languages