Newcastle, Australia, 21st October 2015 – ASTRI, The Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative, today provided a glimpse into Australia’s solar future with the release of a 3D printable model of its 25 MW* concentrating solar thermal (CST) reference power plant. The desktop model, a first of its kind, is an education tool that allows Australians to get ‘hands on’ with the benefits, value and opportunity that grid and fringe-of-grid concentrating solar thermal technology presents for Australia. Dr Manuel Blanco, Director of ASTRI said of the model release, “As the debate heats up around the best path forward for Australia’s renewable energy future, it’s the storage component of CST technology that will revolutionise the way we deploy solar power. “This model brings that component to life, showing how the storage tanks are positioned in conjunction with the solar tower and heliostat array to capture and dispatch energy, even when the sun isn’t shining.” A downloadable ‘STL file’, ASTRI has developed and released the model as an education tool to aid discussion with: A 19 x 19 centimetre model, the printable plant: The ASTRI reference power plant is based on a set of standard metrics, such as weather data, subsystem efficiencies, and cost. This allows testing and development of novel subsystems to assess the best configuration for CST power plants to achieve greatest efficiency, output and to estimate return on investment. To provide a snapshot in an Australian context, the reference plant design used more than twelve years of solar data compiled by ASTRI, from Bureau of Meteorology data, at the Alice Springs world meteorology site – one of Australia’s sunniest and best locations. Can I print my own 3D CST power plant? You sure can. It’s as easy as one, two, and three. Step 1) Download the 3D printable STL file Step 2) Follow the instructions to save the file then share it with your preferred 3D print supplier Step 3) Print and then marvel at the beauty and simplicity of Australia’s solar future in the palm of your hand You can also download and print an A0 poster of the ASTRI solar field map and position your 3D model on it (just like our pic above). This will give a sense of the full size of the solar field at scale. Watch our short video of the model’s development from design to 3D print production here [youtube height=”337″ width=”600″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0NHttq86xc[/youtube] Five fast facts about solar: -ENDS- Media Enquiries Kate Hines, Communications Advisor, ASTRI +61 2 4960 6100 or kate.hines@csiro.au * The ASTRI plant design is 25 MW (electrical) with 4 hours storage to produce 90 GWh/year ** Based on figures from ASTRI’s reference site in Alice Springs *** Figures from the Australian Energy Regulator indicate that the average Australian household consumes approximately 7.4 MWh (electrical) per annum **** Each hour 430 quintillion Joules of energy from the sun hits the Earth. In comparison, the total amount of energy that all humans use in a year is 410 quintillion Joules About ASTRI About CST
The Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI), an ARENA-backed venture, has released a 3D-printed model of its 25MW concentrating solar thermal (CST) reference power plant. A CST plant could generate up to 90GWh of electricity p.a., with four hours of storage. According to Manuel Blanco, Director of ASTRI, "as the debate heats up around the best path forward for Australia’s renewable energy future, it’s the storage component of CST technology that will revolutionise the way we deploy solar power."