The Albanese Labor Government is backing home-grown innovation, regional jobs and a Future Made in Australia – with the country’s first commercial Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) heat plant to be built in Victoria.

The development of the plant at the Mars Petcare facility in Wodonga will be backed by more than $17 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

This project will secure jobs in the region, reduce emissions through clean, renewable energy and show what’s possible for the future of manufacturing in Australia.

Concentrated solar power technology is a well-known technology for electricity generation, but its application in providing renewable heat for industry is new.

Manufacturing often relies on using large volumes of heat in different processes.

Fossil fuels have traditionally been the only way to generate sufficient heat – however technology breakthroughs mean renewable, clean energy can now be used.

CST uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight to produce thermal energy (PDF 1 MB), that’s then stored as pressurised steam and used in the manufacturing process.

This project will:

• Include an 18 MW thermal CST plant, with up to 10 hours of thermal storage
• Reduce 50% of the facility’s gas use – equivalent to the average annual gas use of over 2,000 households
• Create around 80 jobs during construction

Construction will kick off this month, with completion and full operations expected by 2026.

The Albanese Labor Government is supporting real reliable renewables projects right now.

Peter Dutton’s only plan for Australia’s energy system is to introduce the most expensive form of energy – nuclear – in two decades time.

It’s up to the Coalition to detail the costs of their risky nuclear plan and explain why they’re against a Future Made in Australia.

The Mars Petcare Wodonga project will demonstrate CST as a viable option for businesses seeking reliable, renewable heat solutions to decarbonise industrial processes.

The new CST project will complement Mars Wodonga’s Electric Thermal Energy Storage technology which allows the facility to generate low-cost renewable electricity during off-peak times to produce and store heat for later use.

The company is committed to the facility’s transition to 100% renewable energy in 2 years.

The Wodonga facility is the largest Australian manufacturing site for producing pet food brands such as Pedigree and Whiskas.

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“Creating jobs, investing in our regions and reducing emissions – this is a perfect example of a Future Made in Australia.

“Australia has long and proud energy story.

“Projects like this are part of a new chapter which shows what we can do right across Australia, not just here in Wodonga.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen

“Our regions have powered the Australian economy for a decades, and will continue to do so in a net zero world, with a future made in Australia.

“This is a great demonstration of the potential for renewable technologies like Concentrated Solar Thermal to drive decarbonisation and create regional Australian jobs.

“The Albanese Government is implementing a Reliable Renewables Plan right now, while Peter Dutton and his colleagues have nothing but a nuclear scheme that could cost $600 billion and deliver less than 4 per cent of Australia’s energy needs.”