The ACT's next solar farm will include technology to store power to reap the benefits of the sun even when it isn't shining, but it may be located outside the territory.
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Environment Minister Simon Corbell will on Wednesday call for expressions of interest for "next generation" solar projects generating up to 50 megawatts of electricity – more than the 40MW combined output of the ACT's existing Royalla solar farm and two proposed for Mugga Lane and Williamsdale.
It will be Australia's largest "solar with storage" project and could include several farms in the ACT or surrounds, but companies will also be able to suggest locations "more broadly in the National Electricity Market".
Rather than call for bids on the project, Mr Corbell wants industry players to bring ideas to the table harnessing new technology to help grow the ACT's renewable energy industry while moving towards its 90 per cent renewable energy target by 2020 and reducing emissions.
Mr Corbell said economic development for the ACT, touted as a key benefit of the project, would not be diminished if the farms were built outside the territory.
The community engagement process, overhauled after controversy over the Uriarra solar farm location, would remain the same even outside the ACT.
"We would require significant investment in the ACT if the project was proposed to be located outside the ACT and immediate regions," he said.
"Similar to the wind auction, we'd expect to see investment in our universities, investment in our CIT, support for start-ups and the location of corporate or operational functions here in the ACT."
Power from Canberra's solar farms is twice as expensive as energy generated by its wind projects and Mr Corbell said the market price of the "emerging solar with storage" technology was expected to be even higher.
But he said the mix of renewables was important to boost the economy and create jobs while also improving overall reliability.
Mr Corbell hopes the EOI process will highlight the ACT as a "knowledge hub for renewable energy investment".
"The ACT is particularly strong in its research intuitions, at the ANU for example, in solar so we believe it's important to leverage that strength to create jobs and spin-off companies," he said.
Including the 40MW of electricity generated from rooftop panels, solar will account for about 130MW of the 490MW of renewable energy needed for the ACT to reach its 90 per cent target.
Beyond conventional photovoltaic solar panels the new projects could also include concentrating solar technology with reflectors generating heat from the sun to create steam used for electricity, Mr Corbell said.
But projects using solar thermal technology would be likely to be located further away from the ACT in areas with better solar insulation.
Greater collaboration between jurisdictions to develop joint policies increasing the uptake of large-scale solar and wind projects was a key outcome of a meeting between Mr Corbell and the environment ministers of South Australia, Victoria and Queensland in Adelaide on Monday, but he said there were no specific commitments.
Energy storage options for the latest solar project could include battery and thermal storage, pump and store hydro, and fixed storage devices at homes or businesses which shot to prominence this week when electric car maker Tesla entered the market with a battery using pioneering technology invented by Canberra firm Reposit Power.
Liquid metal batteries, touted as a low-cost option for the ACT's solar farms in January by a Sydney-based firm, could also be considered, Mr Corbell said.
Expressions of interests will close at 3pm on June 17.
The government will then decide whether to structure a reverse auction process or deal directly with proposals already in development, Mr Corbell said.
