CSIRO's cheap solar energy centre: photos
Summary: The CSIRO yesterday began installing 450 large mirrors, known as heliostats, in order to create a large solar-thermal tower system in the hopes of fostering cheap solar energy.
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(Credit: CSIRO)
The heliostats (pictured above, look closely) have been developed by CSIRO and made by Performance Engineering Group, a company based in the central coast.
The size of the panels (2.4 metres by 1.8 metres) makes them difficult to manufacture, as the shape needs to meet exact specifications in order to achieve the right reflection point and the strength to withstand adverse weather.
According to the CSIRO, the heliostats have a unique design specifically created for mass production and are more effective than other heliostats. Indeed, the managing director of Performance Engineering Group, Jon Priddle, believes that high-quality heliostats will one day be mass produced in Australia.
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Massive aggregated generation areas, pumping energy to another geographical location, create significant thermal changes to the atmosphere at the point of use.
Generation that involves harnessing flow, like wind or water, can also create environmental changes, even when deployed at a local level. We have seen how much change is required to build a hydro dam and how much it changes the downstream environment and users. Wind generators can disrupt the airflow, but are often in areas with very high energy flows, so that they may be more of an eyesaw rather than environmentally disruptive.
Generating by fuel consuption, such as coal or nuclear, create the worst effects because they add energy, rather than just shift it around. Plus they have severe, long term environmental effects, especially nuclear.
Of course, the net environmental effects of the manufacturing, deployment and disposal processes also need to be included into the equation. Such 'costs' need to be part of the comparitive analysis of the available energy options. Unfortunately, such 'costs' are not itemised conveniently for us.
For example, while using newer cars may be less harmful than older cars, the true cost must include the cost /energy of recycling/disposal of the old vehicle and the cost/energy of the new. I'm sure the impetus to change vehicles on environmental grounds would be severely reduced if such energy costs were included in the nett environmental impacts, as the running energy savings may not be worth it when the chaneover energy costs are amortised over the vehicle's life.
"Generating by fuel consuption (sic.), such as coal or nuclear, create the worst effects because they add energy, rather than just shift it around. Plus they have severe, long term environmental effects, especially nuclear."