CSIRO and Abengoa Solar will develop and demonstrate reliable high temperature storage systems and high temperature heat transfer mediums to overcome the intermittent nature of solar energy.
This project aims to make solar energy more attractive to energy intensive industries and improve the dispatchability of the power, allowing smoother integration into Australia’s electricity grid.
This energy storage research project will develop cost-effective technology to capture, transfer and store solar thermal energy for use after the sun goes down (or in cloudy conditions), to create a reliable and constant supply of renewable energy.
Ensuring solar-generated electricity is available 24 hours a day (or when needed) will make solar energy more competitive with conventional energy sources such as fossil fuel-generated electricity. Solar intermittency is creating barriers for the renewable energy industry such as:
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Uncertainty regarding the provision of a consistent and stable service.
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Grid stability: an irregular electricity supply with great spikes and troughs is problematic for electricity grids.
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Increasing costs: without a constant energy source solar power plants have low return on capital investment, inflating the costs of solar energy.
CSIRO’s study aims to create certainty, provide solutions for a stable grid supply and through these solutions, decrease the cost of solar energy.
The storage research will take place at the CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia making use of the existing 600 kilowatt (thermal) solar field and tower facility.
There will be two main areas of research– first, determining the best medium to transfer the solar energy to the storage unit, and second, determining the best medium to store the solar thermal energy. Molten salts are currently being explored as a possible medium.
Fact sheet: Development of advanced solar thermal energy storage technologies for integration with energy-intensive industrial processes and electricity (PDF 300KB)