EnviroMission to build Solar Tower power stations

This month, the South Melbourne-based company filed a notice of intent with the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee stating that it will file an application for a certificate of environmental compatibility for the Solar Tower renewable-energy power project it plans to develop in the state.

A certificate of environmental compatibility is a critical permit for power station development in Arizona and is the primary first step in the plant-siting process.

Once developed, EnviroMission plans to sell electricity from the first of the two 200MW Solar Tower power stations to the Southern California Public Power Authority under the terms of a power purchase agreement approved in October.

In the EnviroMission Solar Tower, the sun’s radiation is used to heat a large body of air under an expansive collector-zone, which is then forced to move upwards through large turbines to generate electricity.

The company says that one of the major advantages of a solar tower over other renewable and traditional coal and nuclear energy plants is that it does not use any water in the energy production process.