Cloncurry solar power station
Encyclopedia
A solar thermal power station was to be built in Cloncurry
, in north-west Queensland
. The solar thermal power
station was planned have a capacity of 10-megawatt and deliver about 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power the whole town.
It was reported in November 2010 that the project was scrapped because of light pollution
concerns.
31 million including a A$7 million gift from the government. The plant was supposed to be running by early 2010.
On 16 November 2010, Lloyd Energy Systems advised the government to not proceed further at the current location. The cancellation of the project is due to reflective glare issues which have raised concerns about operating in an urban environment and potential impacts on community health. The government decided to invest the remaining $5.7 million from the project towards a photovoltaic solar farm for the area.
design. An array of motorized heliostat
mirrors reflects sunlight to the summit of a tower. The summit houses a receiver, which is heated by the concentrated sunlight. A total of 54 towers of 18 m (59 ft) high will be constructed.
A novelty in this power plant is that heat is stored. An important advantage of
solar thermal energy
is the possibility of storing heat for later use. In this way, the plant can also produce electricity at night or on overcast days. A common method is the storage of molten nitrate salt in large tanks; this is the technology used in Solar Tres Power Tower
.
The Cloncurry plant uses the new technology of heat storage in blocks of purified graphite
. The blocks are placed on top of the tower. The concentrated light on the receivers of the towers is directly transported to these blocks. The heat for electricity production is drawn from the blocks (ie, there is no direct heat transport from the receiver).
Cloncurry, Queensland
-Notable residents:*Writer Alexis Wright grew up in Cloncurry.*Association Footballer Kasey Wehrman was born in Cloncurry . He went on to play domestically and in Scandinavia. His achievements include winning a NSL Championship in 1996-1997 with the Brisbane Strikers and being capped several times...
, in north-west Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. The solar thermal power
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...
station was planned have a capacity of 10-megawatt and deliver about 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power the whole town.
It was reported in November 2010 that the project was scrapped because of light pollution
Light pollution
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light.The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as:...
concerns.
Project
The total cost of the project is A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
On 16 November 2010, Lloyd Energy Systems advised the government to not proceed further at the current location. The cancellation of the project is due to reflective glare issues which have raised concerns about operating in an urban environment and potential impacts on community health. The government decided to invest the remaining $5.7 million from the project towards a photovoltaic solar farm for the area.
Novelty in heat storage
The design is a common solar power towerSolar power tower
The solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...
design. An array of motorized heliostat
Heliostat
A heliostat is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions in the sky. The target may be a physical object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space...
mirrors reflects sunlight to the summit of a tower. The summit houses a receiver, which is heated by the concentrated sunlight. A total of 54 towers of 18 m (59 ft) high will be constructed.
A novelty in this power plant is that heat is stored. An important advantage of
solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy
Solar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...
is the possibility of storing heat for later use. In this way, the plant can also produce electricity at night or on overcast days. A common method is the storage of molten nitrate salt in large tanks; this is the technology used in Solar Tres Power Tower
Solar Tres Power Tower
Solar Tres is a 15 MW power plant based on solar thermal energy. It is located west of the city of Écija, in Andalusia, Spain.Solar Tres is based on the solar power tower concepts pioneered in the Solar One and Solar Two demonstration projects...
.
The Cloncurry plant uses the new technology of heat storage in blocks of purified graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
. The blocks are placed on top of the tower. The concentrated light on the receivers of the towers is directly transported to these blocks. The heat for electricity production is drawn from the blocks (ie, there is no direct heat transport from the receiver).
See also
- List of solar thermal power stations
- Solar power towerSolar power towerThe solar power tower is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, movable mirrors to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower...
- Solar thermal energySolar thermal energySolar thermal energy is a technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy . Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat...