In two years, an entire town in far north Queensland will be powered by the sun. The $29 million project in the town of Cloncurry will be the first of its type for the state
By
Roger Maynard, Australia Correspondent
SYDNEY: One of Australia's hottest and most isolated communities is poised to make history by becoming the country's first town to be powered entirely by the sun.
Cloncurry, set in the middle of the Queensland outback some 1,700km from the state capital Brisbane, has been chosen as the site for the state's first large- scale solar power station.
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And given its record-breaking climate, it is easy to see why.
Cloncurry boasts of experiencing the hottest day Australia has ever known - a blood-boiling 53 deg C in the shade.
That was in 1889 but it is safe to say that searing temperatures and sunshine are nothing new to this outback community of nearly 5,000 people.
As local mayor Ed Morrison puts it, 'over 40 degrees is normal'.
What is unusual is the decision to harness the sun's rays in such a revolutionary manner. The key difference between this new technology and other techniques of solar power generation is its ability to store thermal energy at the point of collection and hold it there before it is converted into electricity.
A battery of 8,000 reflective mirrors will track the sun continuously and reflect the beams onto 54 receiver towers containing graphite blocks. Water pumped through the blocks will generate steam which will in turn operate a conventional turbine electricity generator.
Because the heat remains in the graphite, the steam can be produced 24 hours a day, allowing the turbine to function during overcast weather as well as at night.
The Queensland state government believes this is the perfect solution to 21st-century power demands of providing clean energy, cutting carbon emissions and saving money on future upgrades to the local electricity production network.
The A$30 million (S$29 million) project is an obvious choice in a hot and sunny country such as Australia and the manufacturing company is already planning similar facilities elsewhere.
Mr Steve Collis, chief executive of Lloyd Energy Storage, told The Straits Times on Tuesday that there were 10 projects in development - eight in Australia, and one each in the United States and the Mediterranean.
'At the moment we are on target to start the Cloncurry solar power station early in the new year and on line for producing electricity by the middle of 2010,' he added.
It is only recently that advances in technology have allowed the power of the sun's rays to be stored and used to drive turbines 24 hours a day. The power station is also the ultimate in eco-friendliness, containing no toxic materials and producing no harmful emissions or wastes. Once fully online, it can deliver 30 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, more than enough for Cloncurry.
There are other smaller solar power facilities in Australia, some of them used to provide electricity to remote Aboriginal communities in the outback. But this will be the first example of an entire town benefiting from the sun 24 hours a day.
Australia will also be home to the world's largest solar power station with the completion of an A$450 million facility in the state of Victoria by 2013. The 154MW photovoltaic solar power station will meet the annual needs of over 45,000 homes with zero greenhouse gas emissions.
