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World first: Australian solar plant has generated “supercritical” steam that rivals fossil fuels’ A CSIRO test plant in Australia has broken a world record and proved solar power could efficiently replace fossil fuels.

World first: Australian solar plant has generated “supercritical” steam that rivals fossil fuels’

A solar thermal test plant in Newcastle, Australia, has generated “supercritical” steam at a pressure of 23.5 mpa (3400 psi) and 570°C (1,058°F). CSIRO is claiming it as a world record, and it’s a HUGE step for solar thermal energy. "It's like breaking the sound barrier; this step change proves solar has the potential to compete with the peak performance capabilities of fossil fuel sources," Dr Alex Wonhas, CSIRO’s Energy Director, told Colin Jeffrey for Gizmag. The Energy Centre uses a field of more than 600 mirrors (known as heliostats) which are all directed at two towers housing solar receivers and turbines, Gizmag reports. This supercritical steam is used to drive the world’s most advanced power plant turbines, but previously it’s only been possible to produce it by burning fossil fuels such as coal or gas. Watch the video to see the plant in action. World's largest solar plant switches on in California.

264inShare Jump To Close A massive solar plant in the Mojave Desert officially began operation today after years of construction, testing, and development.

World's largest solar plant switches on in California

Co-owned by NRG Energy, BrightSource Energy, and Google, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is said to be ready to generate nearly 30 percent of all solar thermal energy produced in the United States. The plant consists of three 459-foot tall towers each with tens of thousands of robotic, garage-door sized mirrors that angle sunlight toward a water boiler sitting atop them. NRG says that the nearly 5.5-square-mile plant is the largest solar project of its type in the world, and that it will be able to provide clean energy to 140,000 neighboring California homes. While regulators are continuing to look into the plant's environmental impact, it's still a big moment for clean energy in California.

Hint: Use the 's' and 'd' keys to navigate All images credit of BrightSource Energy. How to tap the sun’s energy through heat as well as light. A new approach to harvesting solar energy, developed by MIT researchers, could improve efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected by a conventional photovoltaic cell.

How to tap the sun’s energy through heat as well as light

This technique could also make it easier to store the energy for later use, the researchers say. In this case, adding the extra step improves performance, because it makes it possible to take advantage of wavelengths of light that ordinarily go to waste. The process is described in a paper published this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, written by graduate student Andrej Lenert, associate professor of mechanical engineering Evelyn Wang, physics professor Marin Soljačić, principal research scientist Ivan Celanović, and three others.

A conventional silicon-based solar cell “doesn’t take advantage of all the photons,” Wang explains. The design of the two-layer absorber-emitter material is key to this improvement. Markus Kayser - Solar Sinter Project from Markus Kayser. Arizona solar plant achieves six hours after sun goes down. (Phys.org) —Abengoa's Solana plant in the desert near Gila Bend, Arizona, passed commercial testing this week The 280-megawatt Solana solar thermal power plant producing electricity without direct sunlight made the announcement on Wednesday.

Arizona solar plant achieves six hours after sun goes down

Abengoa said Wednesday that the facility, about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, can store the sun's power for six hours via thermal energy. The three -square-mile facility near Gila Bend uses concentrated solar power (CSP) technology to collect the sun's heat. Thermal energy storage is Solana's distinctive feature. At 280 megawatts, Solana is one of the largest plants using parabolic mirrors. Its 2,700 parabolic trough mirrors follow the sun to focus heat on a pipe containing a heat transfer fluid, which is a synthetic oil. Guy Builds Solar-Powered Death Ray In His Backyard (Yawn) : Krulwich Wonders... To Make Steam Without Boiling Water, Just Add Sunlight And Nano.