CWP Renewables plans to develop a a 250 MW concentrated solar thermal project near Townsville at an expected cost of $1.3 billion.

Construction on ‘Freedom Energy One’ could start as soon as early 2019, pending approvals.

CWP  expects the project to create more than 2000 jobs during the two-year build and 50 operations and maintenance roles.

“This concentrated solar thermal project can deliver dispatchable, emissions-free power to north Queensland, together with thousands of high value jobs which use the existing skills of the north Queensland workforce,” CWP Renewables managing director Alex Hewitt said.

The plant would work by concentrating the heat of the sun’s rays using mirrors and a thermal receiver. The concentrated energy can be stored in a fluid such as molten salt, or in solid graphite blocks, until when it is most needed to generate and supply power to the electrical grid.