National Solar Energy Centre

One of over 200 Heliostats that
make up the solar array

• Overview
• Features of the NSEC
• Research and Technology Development
• Research Partners
• Contact
• Map and Directions to the NSEC
• Further Information on the NSEC (DVD / PDFs)
  
  
  

The 26m high solar tower that
houses the solar concentrator

Overview
The National Solar Energy Centre (NSEC) is located in Newcastle , New South Wales on the same site as the CSIRO Energy Centre. The NSEC is a joint program between CSIRO Energy Technology and the Energy Transformed Flagship and was launched on the 31st March 2006.

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Features of the National Solar Energy Centre

The NSEC is the only multi-collector facility of its type in Australia and home to the largest high concentration solar array in the Southern Hemisphere. At peak operation it generates enough energy to power more than 100 homes.

The NSEC consists of three main elements:

Remote controlled heliostats
track the sun as it moves across the sky
and focus the sun's rays onto the concentrator

•  A high concentration tower solar array that uses 200 mirrors to generate more than 500kW of energy. It will be capable of achieving peak temperatures of over 1000°C;

•  A low concentration linear solar array that generates a hot fluid at temperatures around 250°C; and

•  A control room facility that will house the centre's communications and control systems and serve as an elevated viewing platform.

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The process of reforming natural gas
into solar gas using the high
concentration solar array

Research and Technology Development

The NSEC is used to research and demonstrate advances in innovative solar technologies in collaboration with other national and international research institutes. The solar concentrators will initially be used to develop two technologies.

The low concentration array will be used to provide thermal energy that drives a small, high-speed turbine designed for use in remote power applications and distributed generation markets. This will produce not only electricity but heating, cooling/chilling and desalination. Thermal storage will be used to overcome the issues of transient sunlight.

The high concentration array will be used to provide the temperatures needed to produce a solar gas that contains over 25 percent more energy than the natural gas feeding into the process. This solar gas can then be processed to solar hydrogen. Solar gas and solar hydrogen provide all the benefits of solar energy but with all the convenience of gas. It enables solar energy to be stored and transported. The technology serves as a transitional route toward higher levels of solar penetration into the energy mix.

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Research Partners

CSIRO Energy Technology and the Energy Transformed Flagship will use the NSEC to promote collaboration through shared use of the facility by Australian and international researchers.

This project is proudly supported by the International Science Linkages programme established under the Australian Government's innovation statement Backing Australia's Ability, as well as the NSW Government's Sustainable Energy Research & Development Fund (SERDF).

Other contributors include:

DLR (Germany)
Australian National University (Canberra)

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Further Information on the National Solar Energy Centre

• The National Solar Energy Centre DVD (.mpg - 13MB)
• The National Solar Energy Centre - Overview (PDF)
• The National Solar Energy Centre - Solar Tower Array (PDF)
• The National Solar Energy Centre - Plugging in the Sun: The Solar Turbine Project(PDF)
• The National Solar Energy Centre - SolarGas™ A Host of Benefits (PDF)
• The National Solar Energy Centre - Solar Power and Solar Technologies (PDF)

Contact

Mr Wes Stein
Phone: 02 4960 6094
Fax: 02 4960 6028
Email:wes.stein@csiro.au

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