EnviroMission
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAustralian solar-thermal technology company associated with large-scale solar updraft tower projects.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
EnviroMission is an Australian company established as a public company on 2 November 2000 to develop solar-thermal electricity-generation technology. Its principal concept was the solar updraft tower, a form of solar power station that uses a large greenhouse-like collector to heat air and direct the resulting convection through a tall chimney equipped with turbines. The company promoted this technology as a way to produce utility-scale electricity without the direct fuel combustion associated with conventional thermal generation. The company's best-known proposal was Solar Tower Buronga, planned for a location in western New South Wales approximately 25 kilometres northeast of Mildura. EnviroMission began advancing the Australian concept in 2001, but the project remained at the planning and feasibility stage. The proposed facility was intended to demonstrate the commercial potential of an extremely large solar collector and tower rather than operate as a small demonstration installation. EnviroMission also pursued international development opportunities. By February 2007 it reported feasibility work on potential tower projects in Texas. In 2008, the company merged with United States-based SolarMission Technologies, Inc., reflecting an effort to establish a North American platform for project development and financing. The company subsequently concentrated significant attention on Arizona, where it proposed two 200-megawatt solar updraft towers. In October 2010, it received approval from the Southern California Public Power Authority to sell electricity that would be generated by the proposed facilities. That approval represented commercial progress, but it did not lead to completed construction. The Arizona program encountered difficulty in providing a guaranteed completion date. EnviroMission ultimately lost its arrangement with the Southern California Public Power Authority after it could not guarantee when the solar tower would be completed. Publicly described projects therefore remained proposals rather than operating power stations; as of 2014, construction had not begun. The company's history illustrates the difficulty of commercializing very large, capital-intensive renewable-energy infrastructure when feasibility, permitting, financing, engineering, offtake commitments, and construction schedules must all be aligned. EnviroMission was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in April 2019. The available reference material does not establish whether the company subsequently ceased all operations, reorganized, or continued privately. Its public-facing identity remains closely associated with solar updraft tower development in Australia and the United States, rather than with a completed commercial generating asset.
History
EnviroMission was established as an Australian public company on 2 November 2000. From 2001 onward, it promoted the development of a solar updraft tower power station at Solar Tower Buronga in western New South Wales, near Mildura. The proposed design combined a very large solar collector with a tall tower: sunlight would heat air under the collector, and the rising air would pass through turbines to generate electricity. The project was presented as a utility-scale renewable-energy installation, but it did not progress beyond planning and feasibility work. The company expanded its development ambitions internationally during the 2000s. By early 2007, it reported that it was studying possible tower projects in Texas. In 2008, EnviroMission merged with SolarMission Technologies, Inc., a United States company. The transaction supported the company's attempts to develop solar tower projects in the United States and broadened its commercial and project-development base. EnviroMission later proposed two 200-megawatt solar updraft towers in Arizona. In October 2010, the Southern California Public Power Authority approved the sale of electricity that the facilities were expected to produce. The approval provided an intended route to market, but the projects still required major engineering, financing, permitting, and construction work. EnviroMission was unable to guarantee a completion date for its solar tower, and it subsequently lost the power-sale arrangement. By 2014, construction had not started. The company's experience reflects the gap between developing a novel renewable-energy concept and delivering a commercial power station. Its projects involved unusually large structures and depended on long-term commitments from utilities, investors, contractors, and regulators. The available account does not record a completed EnviroMission solar tower or an operating generating asset. EnviroMission was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in April 2019. The company's post-delisting operating status is not established by the supplied sources.
- 2019
ASX delisting
[1]EnviroMission was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in April 2019.
- 2014
Arizona construction had not begun
[1]The proposed Arizona solar tower projects remained unbuilt as of 2014.
- 2010
Arizona electricity-sale approval
[1]The Southern California Public Power Authority approved the proposed sale of electricity from EnviroMission's Arizona facilities.
- 2008
Merger with SolarMission Technologies
[1]EnviroMission merged with the United States-based SolarMission Technologies, Inc.
- 2007
Texas feasibility work reported
[1]EnviroMission reported feasibility studies for potential solar tower development in Texas.
- 2001
Solar Tower Buronga proposal begins
[1]The company began proposing a solar updraft tower power station near Mildura in western New South Wales.
- 2000
Company established
[1]EnviroMission was founded as an Australian public company on 2 November 2000.
Products and positioning
Developer and promoter of large-scale solar updraft tower technology for utility electricity generation.
Solar thermal power generation · 2001
Solar updraft tower power stations
EnviroMission's core offering was a proposed solar updraft tower system. The concept uses a broad transparent collector to warm air with solar energy, then channels the rising air toward turbines inside a tall tower. The company promoted the design for very large utility-scale projects, including the proposed Solar Tower Buronga facility in New South Wales and two proposed 200-megawatt towers in Arizona. The supplied references do not document a completed commercial plant.
Renewable-energy technology
Solar Tower technology
Solar Tower was EnviroMission's branded or commonly used description for its solar updraft tower approach. It was positioned as a low-emission electricity technology capable of using solar heat to drive air movement and turbines. The technology was commercialized through project proposals and feasibility studies rather than through a documented operating product portfolio.
Brand decisions
2010
Pursue Arizona solar tower projectsStrategyBackground
EnviroMission was developing plans for two 200-megawatt solar updraft towers in Arizona and needed an electricity buyer for the proposed output.
Action taken
The company obtained approval from the Southern California Public Power Authority to sell electricity expected to be generated by the facilities.
Aftermath
The arrangement later failed after EnviroMission could not guarantee a completion date, and construction had not begun by 2014.
2008
Merge with SolarMission TechnologiesM&ABackground
EnviroMission sought to expand its solar tower development activities into the United States and pursue projects beyond its original Australian proposal.
Action taken
The company merged with United States-based SolarMission Technologies, Inc.
Aftermath
The combined development effort pursued proposed solar updraft towers in Arizona, but the projects did not reach construction in the reported period.
Sources4 sources
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