The government is making $110 million of its $1.6 billion of spending available to kick-start private investment in a solar thermal plant In Port Augusta in South Australia in the 2017-18 Federal Government budget.
The said money will go towards kick-starting a private company to build a solar thermal plant just like the Ivanpah Solar Electric generating system in Southern Nevada.
Private companies like the Solar Reserve have previously stated that they need a government investment of around $100 million top start the development, but the solar thermal technology that will be created will be able to supply baseload power through renewable to a state that really needs it.
Solar Thermal uses molten salt in storing heat reflected by an array of thousands of mirrors. This allows the energy to be used to spin turbines and create power 24/7 like traditional coal and gas power plants.