A unique concentrated solar photovoltaic (CSPV) power tower was unveiled in Newbridge, Victoria this month paving the way for the deployment of utility-scale CSPV power stations in Australia and overseas.
It was developed by RayGen Resources as a $3.6 million pre-commercial pilot project and supported by a further $1.7 million of funding from ARENA.
The grid-connected power station is operational and will supply 200 kilowatts to a local agriculture business.
RayGen has already received international orders for the technology, which has the potential to reduce the cost of solar-based electricity.
The CSPV technology uses an array of sun-tracking heliostat mirrors to focus sunlight onto a very efficient central receiver. The receiver converts a high proportion of sunlight to power while an advanced cooling system keeps it from overheating.
It requires a smaller amount of space per kilowatt of capacity compared to existing concentrating solar thermal technologies.
Pilot plant data on performance, reliability, operations and maintenance will be used for the development of a commercial scale CSPV system.