Frontier Power is zeroing in on an engineering and building contractor to develop its proposed Stage One 114 MW Bristol Springs photo voltaic plant in Western Australia.
The aspiring renewables and inexperienced hydrogen producer says it has narrowed a area of EPC candidates from 5 to 2 to work on the photo voltaic plant, which is able to energy a proposed 36.6MW electrolyser to provide 4.4 million kilograms of inexperienced hydrogen yearly.
The EPC contract is a key requirement for the challenge financing course of, which is anticipated to start early subsequent 12 months.
Frontier estimates Stage One building will price round $166 million, with the very best expense within the photo voltaic modules, costing round $42 million.
“Extremely aggressive” growth proposals
Frontier govt chair, Grant Davey, says the shortlisted corporations – who will not be being named – each have “important expertise” creating industrial scale photo voltaic farms in Australia.
“Regardless of the excessive inflationary atmosphere, the prices forecast had been extremely aggressive and in keeping with the PFS (pre-feasibility research) estimate,” Davey mentioned.
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The photo voltaic farm will likely be situated on roughly 195 hectares of land largely cleared of vegetation from its historic use for agricultural functions.
As reported by RenewEconomy, the positioning will ultimately connect with the present Western Energy 330kV transmission community through the Landwehr Terminal, situated 4km north-east of the photo voltaic plant and assuaging the necessity to construct its personal community.
An EPC tender for growth of the hydrogen stage will observe completion of a key research scheduled for launch throughout the subsequent three months, in accordance with Frontier.
Low cost, inexperienced hydrogen
As soon as totally up and operating, Frontier believes the Bristol Springs challenge might be each an earlier mover and one of many lowest price inexperienced hydrogen belongings in Australia, due to its distinctive location surrounded by main infrastructure.
This reduces working and capital prices in comparison with extra distant hydrogen tasks, while additionally being surrounded by probably early adopters into the hydrogen trade within the transition from fossil fuels, in accordance with the corporate.
Frontier has engaged engineering consultants GHD to help within the last collection of an EPC contractor for Stage One. GHD can also be conducting research for the hydrogen facility.
It anticipates its preliminary hydrogen manufacturing will likely be offered into the home market, with its first prospects prone to be long-haul transportation pipelines and power storage.
Frontier weighed the chances of each wind and photo voltaic power options however discovered that wind was not aggressive and a solar-only choice would ship the most effective end result. Battery storage was additionally deemed uneconomic because of excessive capital prices.
