Queensland company joins Australian first in solar installations
14 December 2007
Source: qbr.com.au
http://www.qbr.com.au/index.cfm?storyid=33682&cp=displaystory&type=s
Central Australia will soon be home to a $3 million Solar Technology Demonstration Facility; the first site in Australia to publicly showcase such a broad range of large scale solar installations. Over 15 solar installations will be established at the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs, providing a unique opportunity to compare their performance as well as provide an interactive display for the public.
Installations will include solar concentrator dishes utilising the latest in waterless cooling systems, large scale tracking arrays and a variety of Photovoltaic technologies including some firsts for Australia: The first use of Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Panels and Cadmium Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) Panels in mainstream grid connect installations.
Queensland’s Choice Electric is trailling the installation of the CIGS panels, and Business Development Manager John Cooper says the company shares the vision of solar technology’s appropriateness for remote regions of Australia. “Choice Electric Co. is proud to be introducing our new CIGS solar panels into the Solar Technology Demonstration Facility,” says Cooper.
“CIGS is a new, non-silicon solar technology with unique characteristics and this project is a great opportunity to assess and showcase its performance beside other new and existing technologies. “We share with Desert Knowledge Australia the vision to bring the best sustainable technologies to people in remote regions while promoting new learning opportunities and providing a valuable database of information on renewable energy technologies.”
Nigel Morris, Manager of Marketing and Offer Development of BP Solar, who are also participating in the project says this project will “undoubtedly be the most substantial and cutting edge demonstration of solar technology in Australia”.
The Facility is funded by the Australian Government’s Remote Renewable Power Generation Rebate Program through the Australian Greenhouse Office and the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2008.