The Newman and Palaszczuk Queensland governments and their "pro-coal" policies are to blame for the failure of the Kogan Creek Solar Boost project, scrapped last year at a cost to taxpayers of at least $45 million, the technology's inventor says.
State-owned utility CS Energy blamed contractual and technical problems, including rusting pipes and "fast-moving clouds", for the project's failure.
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Solar panel graveyard reveals waste
Thousands of solar reflectors lie in waste in outback Queensland, evidence of a failed energy project which cost taxpayers more than $45 million. Vision: Vertical Imaging
But Australian scientist David Mills, whose pioneering solar thermal technology was to be used at Kogan Creek, said although former Labor premier Anna Bligh had been supportive in the scheme's early stages, subsequent governments had failed to get state-owned power companies to buy the electricity produced, dooming the scheme.
"It's clear that there's protection of existing companies going on here for the local industry," Dr Mills said.
"Anna [Bligh], who I met on a couple of occasions, she was always very much in support. But then Campbell Newman came to power and there were no power purchase agreements.
"To me it was pretty surprising that the state government couldn't persuade its own companies. That sounds to me like a strike."
In 2012, the Newman government killed off what would have been Australia's largest solar power project, Solar Dawn, withdrawing funding and blaming a failure to reach agreement for state utility Ergon to buy the power generated.
Dr Mills said not much had changed since Labor came to power in 2015.
"Palaszczuk – she seems very pro-coal," he said.
Run by French nuclear group Areva for Queensland state-owned power utility CS Energy and funded by the Queensland and Federal governments, the Solar Boost project was designed to increase efficiency and reduce carbon emissions at the coal-fired Kogan Creek power station near Chinchilla, supplying cleaner, cheaper power to 5000 homes.
Fairfax Media this week reported a whistleblower's claims of a litany of management, planning and communication failures at Kogan Creek, much of it sheeted home to Areva and the "aggressive" management style of its US-based executives.
Former site manager Ian Canham also alleged state and federal governments had breached contractual obligations by failing to inspect the project.
Dr Mills said he had never met Mr Canham, "but I do share his frustration with how a good idea can be so mishandled".
"It's good that now we know something about what was happening and it isn't pretty," he said.
"This is not a technology failure."
Dr Mills's California-based company, Ausra, lobbied the the Rudd and Gillard governments to fund the Kogan Creek Solar Boost scheme in 2008-09. Ausra was acquired by Areva in 2010 and became California-based Areva Solar; Dr Mills left the company the same year.
"When Areva took over our company in February 2010 one of the things that was supposed to be good about that was they were supposed to be good at large projects," Dr Mills said.
He said he had been warned at the time that the pro-nuclear stance of the French government, which controls Areva, was a threat to Areva's solar activities. Areva pulled out of solar energy entirely in 2014.
Dr Mills said Australia similarly had a history of politically-motivated attempts to "suppress" solar energy since he entered the field in the 1970s.
"If we took all the incentives applied to coal and redirected them to renewables there would be no problems at all," he said.
"With the cost of solar technology coming down, there's a whole suite of technology available. There's enough to replace the whole thing, we don't have to wait for fusion or anything like that."
Dr Mills said the thousands of solar mirrors intended for use at Kogan Creek but now lying in waste could still be reused elsewhere for industrial heat generation.
Dr Mills said said he was prepared to volunteer his time to help an engineering colleague who was looking for a new user for the mirrors.
"It needs for someone to love the project," he said.