Solar concentration plants proposed for Australia's Goldfields

West Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam is proposing solar concentration plants for Goldfields region.

Also known as Concentrating Solar Thermal, it's a field of glass that reflect the suns heat into a central tower and store the energy to be used after dark or in cloudy weather.

"They've built them in Europe, they're building them right now on a large scale in north America, we think the Goldfields is the best place in Australia to start and we're pretty encouraged by the response that we got today," Ludlam.

The senator was in Kalgoorlie to host a meeting with local stakeholders to discuss proposals for a solar power station that would take advantage of funds supplied by the Federal Government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation. From July 1 the CEFC will have $2 billion a year to invest in renewable energy projects.

Photovoltaic or PV solar power stations are not able to store energy that would allow them to run without sunlight.

Currently Investec have proposed to build Western Australia's largest solar photovoltaic power station at the Mungari Industrial Estate, 26 kilometres south west of Kalgoorlie.

Senator Ludlam said while Investec's proposed photovoltaic plant project would be an asset to the region, he would like to see "next generation" solar technology used in the Goldfields.

City of Kalgoorlie Boulder CEO Don Burnett said the region was a perfect and secure location for a large scale solar station because of the guaranteed sunshine.

"The city has for a number of years, been looking forward to a solar proposal coming to... the region," he said.

"It's a great location for a solar proposal and the benefits to the city and the region would be immense, but also it's a great opportunity for the state and federal governments to be involved in innovation in sustainable energy."

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