The White Cliffs Solar Power Station, the first commercially operated solar thermal power station in New South Wales (NSW) and one of the earliest of its kind in the world, has been listed on the State Heritage Register.
Built in 1981, the White Cliffs power station was the first full-scale demonstration of solar thermal technology put to commercial use in NSW.
Developed through a collaboration between the NSW government and the Australian National University, the system used 14 sun-tracking parabolic dishes to produce power for the remote opal mining town, about 250 kilometres northeast of Broken Hill in the state’s west.
The five-metre dishes were used to concentrate sunlight, heat water and produce steam to drive a single phase 37 KVA alternator. The generator produced up to 25 kW of electricity to power the off-grid community, with some energy stored in batteries for use at night. Electricity from the station supplied the local hospital, school, post office and 12 homes in the remote town. A back-up diesel generator ensured supply during extended cloudy periods.
The facility was adapted to PV technology in 1997 with the dishes resurfaced with new mirror panels and the thermal absorbers replaced by a cluster of 16 PV cells that were more than 22% efficient in converting solar radiation directly into electricity. The facility continued operating until 2005.
NSW Environement and Heritage said the White Cliff power station had played an important role in proving the effectiveness and practicality of solar energy production beyond the laboratory.
The department said the facility helped prove solar power could reliably supply electricity for everyday use long before renewable energy became an established part of the state’s energy grid, adding that the “lessons learnt from this ambitious engineering innovation have, and continue, to play a key role in the development of renewable energy technologies.”
Heritage NSW Executive Director Sam Kidman said the heritage listing honours what is one of the world’s few intact examples of early solar technology.
“White Cliffs Solar Power Station tells an important story about the ingenuity that helped prove renewable energy could power homes and essential services in remote NSW,” he said.
“This remarkable engineering achievement put solar technology into practical use decades before renewable energy became part of everyday life.”
The White Cliffs Solar Power Station now operates as a tourism attraction and is also used periodically for scientific research.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
You have no items in your basket.
