Vast Executes VS1 Engineering Contracts Advancing Toward Construction of 288 MWh Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plant

Front end engineering and design on Vast’s 30MW VS1 Port Augusta CSP project expected to be completed in August followed by ground breaking in Q4 2024

SYDNEY, Australia, April 15, 2024 – Vast Renewables Limited (“Vast”) (Nasdaq: VSTE), a renewable energy company specialising in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems that generate zero-carbon, utility-scale electricity and industrial process heat, today announced it has executed key engineering contracts with Afry, FYFE, Primero and Worley to complete Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) on its VS1 project.

VS1 is a 30MW / 288 MWh CSP plant to be located in Port Augusta, South Australia. Utilising Vast’s proprietary modular tower CSP v3.0 technology, VS1 will generate clean, low-cost, dispatchable power with over 8 hours of thermal energy storage. The project is anticipated to create dozens of green manufacturing jobs, hundreds of jobs during construction and long-term plant operations roles.

Today’s announcement with Afry, FYFE, Primero and Worley follows Vast’s appointment in May 2023 of Worley and its specialist consulting division, Worley Consulting, to complete VS1 basic engineering. FEED is expected to be completed by August ahead of a Final Investment Decision in Q3 2024 and construction starting in late 2024.  

Afry, FYFE, Primero and Worley bring extensive experience designing, engineering and building major energy projects in remote Australia and around the world.

Craig Wood, CEO of Vast said, "This is a major step forward for Vast and VS1, putting this historic CSP project on the path to construction. Afry, FYFE, Primero and Worley will bring the right combination of global and local expertise to VS1, which will utilise our industry-leading technology to capture and store the sun’s energy during the day before generating heat and dispatchable power during the day or night.”

Vast’s proprietary CSP v3.0 technology has received significant support from the Australian Government, including the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), announcing it has approved up to AUD$65 million in funding to support the construction of VS1.  

VS1 will be co-located with Solar Methanol 1 (SM1), a world-first green methanol demonstration plant. In February, Vast, along with its consortium partner, announced that they signed funding agreements to receive AUD$19.48 million and EUR13.2 million from a collaboration between the Australian and German governments, respectively. SM1 will use zero-emissions dispatchable electricity and heat from VS1 to produce green methanol for use as a sustainable shipping fuel.  

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