Shepherd Energy Get in touch
Concept render of a molten-salt tower CST plant at sunset: a glowing central receiver above a field of heliostats in Pilbara-style country
Concept render of heliostat mirrors catching first light against a Pilbara-style dawn sky
Concept render of a tower receiver glowing at dusk, charging molten-salt storage as the sky darkens
Concept render of a tower CST plant operating at night, its receiver lit above the darkened Pilbara-style landscape

Shepherd Energy · Western Australia

Firm clean power and process heat for the Pilbara

An Australian-controlled developer deploying proven, gigawatt-scale Chinese molten-salt tower CSP technology as dispatchable, round-the-clock power and high-temperature industrial heat.

Our technology Get in touch
Concept render · illustrative
A$240–450
Remote diesel cost / MWh
8–14 h
Thermal storage duration
~1.7 GW
Proven Chinese tower-CSP fleet
~A$144
Modelled CST+PV LCOE / MWh

All figures are screening-grade and indicative.

The opportunity

The Pilbara's energy problem is duration, not daylight

WA mining and mineral processing face rising energy costs, mounting carbon liability, and a long-duration firming gap that short batteries cannot close. Cheap daytime solar is already solved. The hard part is firm power at 8pm, process steam at midnight, and stability in a weak, islanded grid.

98%
of Australia's iron ore comes from the Pilbara
~40%
of WA's total emissions
98%
fossil-fuel powered today
A$240–450
per MWh for remote diesel
Concept render, aerial view of a hybrid solar park: a central tower and heliostat rings beside trough rows and PV arrays in red-earth country Concept render · illustrative

Our model

A proven technology, deployed with purpose

  • Track record

    A proven, operating fleet

    China's tower-CSP fleet represents approximately 1.7 GW across 27 commercial plants as of end-2025. These are not demonstration units. They are grid-connected plants with years of operating data behind them.

  • Reliability

    Firm power, day and night

    Molten-salt storage delivers 8–14 hours of dispatchable output. The steam turbine provides synchronous grid inertia: the kind of grid strength that PV and batteries cannot replicate.

  • Design

    Built for the Pilbara

    Dry-cooled from day one. PV + small battery + CST tower shaping firm 24/7 supply and process heat, matched to the region’s arid conditions and high direct-normal irradiance.

  • Host first

    Anchor to a creditworthy offtaker

    We run an honest desktop screen before optimising anything. Technology configuration is selected once the host’s duty profile is clear. No speculative builds.

Technology

From sunlight to dispatchable power

High-temperature solar heat captured by a heliostat field, stored in molten salt, and released on demand as firm power or process heat, day and night. The steam turbine provides synchronous grid inertia at no extra cost.

Explore the technology

Sunlight Heliostat field Receiver · 565 °C Hot salt · 565 °C 8–14 h storage Dispatching from storage Steam generator Steam turbine Synchronous inertia Firm power · 24 h day & night Process heat · ≤565 °C Cold salt · ~290 °C

Daytime: the field charges storage while the turbine dispatches.

Concept render of insulated molten-salt storage tanks beside a CST power block at dusk Concept render · illustrative
Molten-salt thermal storage: the cheapest part of the plant scales the hours

Best fit

Where CST delivers most value

  1. 01 Lithium processing
  2. 02 Alumina refining
  3. 03 Rare earths
  4. 04 Iron ore & green iron (DRI)
  5. 05 Remote mine microgrids
  6. 06 High process-heat loads

CST is not the cheapest daytime kilowatt-hour: PV is. For the specific job of firming a 24/7 industrial load and supplying high-temperature heat, nothing else does it more cheaply. If PV and batteries serve you best, we will say so.

Ready to explore a no-cost desktop screen?

CST benchmarked against PV, BESS, wind, gas and electrification, with a clear go / no-go verdict for your site.

Request a screen Explore the technology