Sundrop Farms

In Sundrop Farms’ first facilities in South Australia, these technologies include concentrated solar power, thermal desalination, and steam-driven electricity generation.

[5] This facility, completed in 2016, produces over 15,000 tonnes of truss tomatoes (on the vine) each year to supply the Australian supermarket operator Coles under a ten-year contract.

[15] Commissioned in October 2016,[16][17][18][19] the facility's concentrated solar thermal plant peak heat production rate is 39 MW,[20] and desalinates water while producing 1.5 MWe of electricity.

Sundrop Farms sought and received approval from the South Australian Environment Protection Authority to discharge waste brine into Spencer Gulf at a salinity of 60 parts per thousand.

The expanded facility discharges its brine into the cooling water outflow channel previously used by the coal-fired Port Augusta power stations.

CEO Philipp Saumweber[28] described the CEFC's commitment as invaluable in enabling the company to subsequently negotiate growth capital funding from global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).