Wizard Power
Encyclopedia
Wizard Power Pty Ltd is an Australian company focused on solar technology research, development and commercialisation. The company is headquartered in Canberra
, Australia
.
Wizard Power's technology portfolio includes:
These technologies enable the delivery of utility-scale, zero emission thermal and electrical energy for dispatchable power applications. The Australian National University developed the first versions of these technologies over a period of more than 30 years. The current Wizard Power Big Dish ‘commercial’ design, represented by the prototype located at the ANU, is based on novel space-frame and mirror panel systems that are optimised for the cost-effective deployment of large (tens to hundreds of megawatt capacity) solar fields.
Wizard Power provides the research, development, technology support and systems integration services necessary to facilitate the development of solutions and projects using these technologies.
In addition to these technologies, Wizard Power is also developing high-temperature solar gasification solutions for the conversion of coal, biomass and other carbonaceous materials to liquid fuels, plastics and fertilisers.
Wizard Power is currently establishing a demonstration site in Whyalla, South Australia
which will showcase the company's energy storage technologies. The Whyalla Solar Storage plant will be a pre-commercial demonstration of energy storage, with full integration, demonstration of start up and shut down procedures, ability to handle intermittent solar input, and deliver energy on demand. This project has been supported by the Commonwealth Government of Australia's Advance Electricity Storage Program.
The Whyalla SolarOasis will use 300 Wizard Power Big Dish solar thermal concentrators to deliver a 40MWe solar thermal power plant. It will be built 4km north of Whyalla adjacent to the solar storage research facility. The plant is designed as a peaking power plant operating in the day and early evening to deliver electricity when it is most in demand.
The $A230 million project will use Wizard Power Technology to generate 66GWh of solar electricity each year.
The Whyalla SolarOasis has been supported by the Australian Government's Renewable Energy Demonstration Program with a $A60 million grant and will be developed by the SolarOasis consortium.
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Wizard Power's technology portfolio includes:
- The Big DishThe Big Dish (solar thermal)The Big Dish is a parabolic dish concentrator developed by the , Australian National University.The initial prototype, SG3, was constructed on the Canberra campus of the Australian National University in 1994. An modified version of SG3 was exported to Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center at...
solar thermal concentrator. The Big Dish is the world's largest and highest performance paraboloidal dish solar concentrator capable of generating temperatures over 1,200oC for superheating steam or powering thermochemical processes. The energy generated through these processes is used for electricity production, energy storage, thermochemistry or process heat; - World leading, patent pending, focally accurate, solar mirror panel technology for Big Dishes and other solar concentrators; and
- A suite of unique thermal and thermochemical solar energy storage systems, also patent pending.
These technologies enable the delivery of utility-scale, zero emission thermal and electrical energy for dispatchable power applications. The Australian National University developed the first versions of these technologies over a period of more than 30 years. The current Wizard Power Big Dish ‘commercial’ design, represented by the prototype located at the ANU, is based on novel space-frame and mirror panel systems that are optimised for the cost-effective deployment of large (tens to hundreds of megawatt capacity) solar fields.
Wizard Power provides the research, development, technology support and systems integration services necessary to facilitate the development of solutions and projects using these technologies.
In addition to these technologies, Wizard Power is also developing high-temperature solar gasification solutions for the conversion of coal, biomass and other carbonaceous materials to liquid fuels, plastics and fertilisers.
Wizard Power is currently establishing a demonstration site in Whyalla, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
which will showcase the company's energy storage technologies. The Whyalla Solar Storage plant will be a pre-commercial demonstration of energy storage, with full integration, demonstration of start up and shut down procedures, ability to handle intermittent solar input, and deliver energy on demand. This project has been supported by the Commonwealth Government of Australia's Advance Electricity Storage Program.
The Whyalla SolarOasis will use 300 Wizard Power Big Dish solar thermal concentrators to deliver a 40MWe solar thermal power plant. It will be built 4km north of Whyalla adjacent to the solar storage research facility. The plant is designed as a peaking power plant operating in the day and early evening to deliver electricity when it is most in demand.
The $A230 million project will use Wizard Power Technology to generate 66GWh of solar electricity each year.
The Whyalla SolarOasis has been supported by the Australian Government's Renewable Energy Demonstration Program with a $A60 million grant and will be developed by the SolarOasis consortium.
External links
- ANU Big Dish solar
- Wizard Power company website