Solar heliostat technology developed by CSIRO in Australia will be used in China for concentrating solar thermal (CST) electricity generation.
CSIRO has partnered with Chinese company Thermal Focus, after China’s announcement that it will produce 1.4 GW of concentrated solar thermal power by 2018, and 5 GW by 2020. These goals would double the world’s installed CST plants.
This partnership will allow Thermal Focus to manufacture, market, sell and install CSIRO’s patented low cost heliostats, field control software, and design software in China. Part of the revenue will flow back to Australia to fund further climate mitigation research and development.
According to CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall, CSIRO Energy’s solar thermal technology team and their innovative science is making a significant contribution to supporting local R&D work.
"Australia is a leader in clean energy technology and CSIRO's partnership with China's Thermal Focus takes our climate mitigation focus to a global stage," Dr Marshall said.
"Through this collaboration and our continued solar research, we will be helping to generate cleaner energy, cost savings and technology export benefits for Australia; all lowering global greenhouse gas emissions."
Solar thermal technology uses a field of computer-controlled mirrors (heliostats) that accurately reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on top of a tower.
The concentrated sunlight may then be used to heat and store hot molten salt, which can generate superheated steam to drive a turbine for electricity generation.
Concentrating solar thermal energy has the benefit of a very low cost of storing thermal energy, which gives it a great potential for medium to large-scale solar power, even when the sun is not shining.
Because the heliostat field can make up to 40 per cent of the total cost of the plant, low cost, high precision heliostats are crucial for sustainable CST ventures. CSIRO’s heliostats are more cost effective and smaller than normal, while still getting high performance thanks to an advanced control system.
CSIRO’s software optimizes the configuration of the heliostats even before construction, then manages each heliostat to ensure the optimum amount of reflected heat is focused on the receiver, in order to maximize the amount of power produced.
Besides this agreement with Thermal Focus, CSIRO also has a number of other successful solar thermal partnerships with companies like Japan’s Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, the Cyprus Institute, and Heliostat SA in Australia.
[Image: CSIRO’s solar thermal heliostat technology will help China deliver its clean energy targets. © John Marmaras.]