Australia’s Vast CSP to include green methanol demo for shipping

Why Vast plans to include methanol production in their CSP project Methanol is used to make many chemicals, but what makes producing green methanol most interesting for the future is that the shipping industry, finally having to deal with climate emissions, considers green methanol the Read More …

Published at Solar Energy – Techno-economic assessment of a numbering-up approach for a 100 MWe third generation sodium-salt CSP system

Abstract: This work presents the design and techno-economic analysis of a 100 MWe concentrated solar power (CSP) system using a supercritical CO2 power block with 700 °C input temperature. Aiming to leverage the relatively higher efficiency of small heliostat fields and potential multi-build discounts, a Read More …

Tour Gen-3 solar receivers at the 29th SolarPACES Conference in October

Tour the pilot-scale sodium receiver and falling curtain particle receiver in Australia During the 29th SolarPACES Conference, a day trip from Sydney will take you on a Technical Tour of the CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre at Newcastle, where the working of two gen-3 receivers Read More …

Australian mining to decarbonize with GlassPoint’s solar steam

Ten years ago, GlassPoint CEO Rod MacGregor bucked the typical business plan for solar developers, both PV and CSP (How CSP works): Sign an electricity contract with an electric utility to sell your solar power by the kilowatt-hour for 25 years and try to get Read More …

Published at Solar Compass – Pathways to the use of concentrated solar heat for high temperature industrial processes

Abstract: New analysis is presented identifying strong potential for Concentrating Solar Thermal technology (CST) to be a cost-effective contributor to future sources of net zero-emissions, high temperature industrial process heat relative to other emerging options. Nevertheless, significant further development of the technology is needed to Read More …

CSIRO’s Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap: CSP lowest cost

The CSIRO Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap identifies Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) as the lowest cost technology for long-duration renewable energy storage, among the storage technologies required to reach net zero in Australia. The CSIRO Renewable Energy Storage Roadmap outlines the significant role that concentrating solar thermal Read More …

Australian Researchers Assess the Commercial Viability of Solar Alumina Calcining

Commercializing alumina refining using solar heat Approximately 27% of Australia’s industrial carbon emissions come from alumina refineries, in which fossil fuels are burned to heat the processes. But concentrated solar thermal (CST) could provide up to half of the heat needed. Australian researchers have for Read More …

Add Hydrogen Combustion to a Solar Reactor for Carbon-Free Mining and Mineral Processing

Iron, nickel, alumina and copper mining processes are among the industrial processes that require heat at between 700°C and 1000°C. The advanced concentrated solar thermal (CST)reactors being developed by researchers globally can attain temperatures this high (and higher, up to 1500°C). But CEOs in mining Read More …

SolarReserve’s Aurora Solar Project Signs MOU for 13,000 Aussie Heliostats

US solar developer SolarReserve has just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Australian firm Heliostat SA, to partner in manufacturing and assembling heliostats and heliostat components for the 150 MW Aurora CSP project that SolarReserve is developing in Port Augusta. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is Read More …

SolarReserve Achieves Key Milestone in Development of South Australia’s First Solar Thermal Power Station

ADELAIDE, Australia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SolarReserve has received Development Approval for its Aurora Solar Energy Project, a key milestone required to build the landmark 150 megawatt solar thermal power station 30 kilometers north of Port Augusta. The approval process examined a range of critical elements including environmental, community, and Read More …

Current Job Openings in CSP Research and on CSP Projects

September 2023 Manager, Solar Thermal Testing and Demonstration We are seeking a highly motivated manager to lead the Solar Thermal Testing & Demonstration Department within the Renewable Energy Technologies Group (Org 8920). The Group conducts fundamental and applied R&D to improve performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness Read More …

Sandia Labs R&D Helped SolarReserve hit 6 Cents CSP

Research was key to the low price record of 6 cents for dispatchable solar thermal energy at Port Augusta: SolarReserve According to Kevin Smith, the CEO of California-based SolarReserve; the company that is first to sell CSP at 6 cents/kWh, the record-low CSP price was largely Read More …

How Port Augusta Got the World’s Cheapest Solar Thermal Power

Most coverage of SolarReserve’s 150 MW Aurora solar thermal power plant in Port Augusta completely overlooked its biggest news: the South Australian Government just bought the world’s cheapest solar thermal energy. Just 6 cents per kilowatt hour. SolarReserve will sell solar thermal energy to the Read More …

Australia

Latest in Development: 2023 Vast Solar 30 MW CST (solar fuels production) Latest Online: 2016 Sundrop Farms 36 MW CST: SolarPACES-NREL database: All plant details on this CSP project The Sundrop project uses tower CSP for onsite greenhouse agricultural production since 2016. CSP for electricity Read More …