Concentrated solar thermal

Originally Published in Engineers Australia Magazine - Power Engineering Section Page 58 Using molten salt to store solar energy could provide electricity 24 hours a day, equivalent to baseload supply, according to Matthew Wright, executive director of Melbourne based company Beyond Zero Emissions.

"There are plants in Spain operating with energy storage right now, providing electricity all night long," Wright said.  Molten salt storage uses common salts, such as potassium nitrate, which are readily available and non-toxic.  Using the sun's energy, these salts are heated to high temperatures and stored in insulated storage tanks.   When electricity is needed, the heat in the molten salt is used to create steam to drive a turbine.

According to the company, this sort of electricity is dispatchable, meaning it can be sent out on demand at any time of day, so it can replace the baseload electricity generated from burning fossil fuels.

"Solar thermal power with storage is proven technology, which will reliably provide the backbone of modern renewable electricity grids," Wright said.

By Leigh Ewbank. Published by the ABC, Australia's national broadcaster.

Australia needs a Plan B for climate policy. We need a nation-building project on the scale of the Snowy Mountains Scheme to invest in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. This is the fresh approach needed to drive Australia's transition towards a clean economy and protect the nation from dangerous climate change.

The Prime Minister's announcement yesterday that the government will delay its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until 2013 is a tacit admission that pricing carbon is not viable in the current political environment.

Labor and proponents of emissions trading have been living a fantasy for too long. They have ignored the realities of politics to pursue a policy that had no reasonable chance of being implemented at a time when climate change experts agree we must act. Now, Australia is set for yet more inaction.

No wonder Australia is lagging behind Spain and China with renewable energy, writes Matthew Wright.

Renewable energy is the fastest growing power source in the world, and already generates baseload electricity on the scale of utilities. Large solar thermal plants with heat storage can dispatch power around the clock every day of the week regardless of whether the sun is shining, and make handsome profits during demand peaks.