New tech a curtain raiser for cheap clean solar energy

Technology that stores clean energy by heating particles with captured sunlight is cost-effective and reliable, modelling from The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The ANU research team examined solar thermal technology developed by US-partner Sandia National Laboratories in a team including ANU, CSIRO and the University of Adelaide. The technology works by using concentrated sunlight to heat a "curtain" of falling low-cost particles to 700 degrees Celsius. The heated particles are stored for later use in overnight electricity generation or industrial process heat. The particles are then lifted up for reheating, providing a highly efficient, cyclical system. "Our modelling shows a concentrated solar power system built around this falling 'particle curtain' could generate a megawatt-hour of stored electricity for less than 60 US dollars," Associate Professor John Pye said. "A least-cost system built at the 100 megawatt scale would come with enough storage to run the turbine for 14 hours, easily enough to allow continuous night-time electricity for large parts of the year.