Points of Interest | Green Energy News

June 13, 2004 – Vol.9 No.12

POINTS OF INTEREST.

A weekly collection of websites worth visiting.

With, on average, 3000 hours of sunshine each year, and up to 70 percent of days cloud-free, you’d think Australia would be a solar energy technology power house.

Not quite yet. But the country may be working in that direction.

Take the opportunity to look at the solar research and development projects taking place at the Australian National University Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems.

Surprising projects are underway at ANU. Among them:

--- Sliver (tm) Cell, a thin film solar photovoltaic technology that uses 10 percent of the silicon of typical solar cells. Sliver Cells, using short, very thin ribbons of silicon, could be used in traditional solar applications, as glazing in windows or skylights, used for high voltage solar panels or in roll-up sheets.

Sliver is the flagship product of the Centre and is now under commercialization with partner Origin Energy. Origin is in the process of building a 5-megawatt per year production facility for the cells.

--- CHAPS (Combined Heat and Power Solar), a solar concentrator system. CHAPS collectors combine hot water and electricity generation into a single unit. Parabolic mirrors track the sun on a single axis and reflect light onto a strip of high efficiency solar cells at about 35 times the normal solar intensity. CHAPS is being developed with partner Rheem Australia. Rheem is an HVAC company.

--- A photovoltaic/trough concentrator system similar to CHAPS but developed with partner Solahart Industries. The system is based on sun-tracking mirrors that reflect light onto a receiver lined with solar cells. The solar cells are illuminated to approximately 25 times normal solar concentration, and convert about 20% of the sunlight into electricity. Excess heat is removed via a finned aluminum heat exchanger.

--- Solar thermal projects too are not ignored. The Centre has developed solar dishes and reflectors and is researching energy storage.

--- And more!

All exciting stuff coming from the Land Down Under. Visit the Australian National University Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at http://solar.anu.edu.au/