Australia’s largest solar-thermal tower system generates power using sun and air

sukhmani kaurOct 27 2010

Eco Factor: Solar thermal tower power plant generates electricity without using water.

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Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has developed a technology that requires only sunlight and air to generate electricity in areas facing acute water shortages. The solar Brayton Cycle project replaces use of concentrated sun rays to heat water into high-pressure steam to drive a turbine with a solar energy to create a solar thermal field.

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The technology focuses the sun’s rays projected onto a field of mirrors knows as heliostats onto a 30-meter (98 ft) high solar tower to heat compressed air, which subsequently expands to through a 200kW turbine to generate electricity. The cost effective heliostats created for commercial use consist of a lightweight frame with a simple design. CSIRO has already begun installing the 450 heliostats at the National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales. Once installed, it would become Australia’s largest solar-thermal tower system able to generate temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.

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Via: Gizmag

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