Construction begins at solar techonology demonstration facility

A solar forest, a solar compass and a number of solar technologies never before used in Australia will soon be on public display in Alice Springs at the $3 million Solar Technology Demonstration Facility (STDF).

Located at the Desert Knowledge Precinct, the STDF will showcase a broad range of large-scale solar photovoltaic installations. The Australian government-funded project will see over 15 solar installations established at the site, providing a technical, education, training and tourism facility that will be open to the public.

A 500 m educational and interpretive pathway will wind its way around the STDF site so visitors can view the installations, and an interpretive centre with interactive panels and screens will allow visitors to see first hand how the technologies work with a display of real-time data.

People from all over the world will be able to track the operational performance of the different solar technologies through an interpretive website that provides live data feeds from the STDF.

Desert Knowledge Australia has partnered with the Centre for Appropriate Technology, which is providing project management and engineering for the development.

"Having such a world-class solar facility at the doorstep of our town will not only attract business, educators and investors interested in looking at solar hardware up close, but tourists and school groups as well," John Huigen, CEO of Desert Knowledge Australia, said.

"The STDF will help to secure Alice Springs' position as a leader in arid-zone knowledge (our desert knowledge), and interested parties world over will be attracted to the Desert Knowledge Precinct as a hub from which to gather and share relevant expertise."

Solar installations will include solar concentrator dishes, solar water pumps, combined heat and power systems, large-scale tracking arrays, a variety of photovoltaic technologies and a solar compass.

Combining industrial design with indigenous art, the solar compass, made by BP Solar, will consist of four arrays, each pointing in different directions — east, west, north and flat.

"We will be able to assess the electricity generation of each array in relation to their different orientation to the sun, as well as degradation in output due to dust, which is an important issue for photovoltaic systems in desert and arid zones," said Lyndon Frearson, senior project manager from the Centre for Appropriate Technology.

A solar forest with different types of pole-mounted arrays will highlight and compare the benefits between different methods used to track the sun to maximise efficiency and yield.

A new type of solar photovoltaic panel, never before used in Australia in a grid connect installation, will also be a feature. Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) panels and Cadmium Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) panels use Cadmium that is recovered from the waste of zinc and nickel processing.

"While the CdTe photovoltaic panels are not as high efficiency as some of the others being displayed, they have unique benefits both in cost and for the environment. Cadmium is normally a potentially dangerous by-product of nickel and zinc mining. In manufacturing the CdTe panels, the Cadmium component becomes effectively inert, converting an unwanted waste product into an energy-generating PV panel," said Frearson.

Rising to a height of 17.5 m, two large concentrating photovoltaic tracking dishes will also be installed using a world first, closed loop cooling system.

The facility will also provide a place to train students in the use and maintenance of solar installations, particularly in relation to training programs conducted by the Centre for Appropriate Technology as part of the Desert Peoples Centre, a place for postsecondary education and training for desert people at the Desert Knowledge Precinct.

Thirteen of the solar installations are expected to be completed by September 2008, with the addition of the two large concentrator dishes in the first half of 2009.