Plans are in place to start construction on a new solar power plant that connections claim will be capable of supplying base-load electricity 24 hours a day. The power station will be located in Whyalla, South Australia where on average the sun shines 301 days of the year.

Renewable energy company Wizard Power will begin construction of the solar thermal power station in October 2008 with the aim of producing electricity in July 2009. The technology used to produce solar electricity 24 hours a day will come from the Australian National University (ANU) solar concentrator dish system. A prototype solar dish has been operating experimentally on the ANU campus and is configured to produce superheated steam at 500°C.

The proposed Whyalla solar power station will cost $16 million and initially will be used to demonstrate that the technology can actually provide base-load power, although the energy is going to be diverted into the grid. Electricity to power up to 1000 homes will be produced when the plant is commissioned at the end of 2009. If the technology is proven, the option to expand the plant may be taken.

Six giant solar thermal dishes will be constructed to form this experimental first phase of development. No word yet on the expected capacity of the power plant.

Wizard Power business development manager Artur Zawadski said that the Whyalla project uses a chemical process to store the sun’s heat after it was trapped by the dish and it would be released during the day, the night or on cloudy days.

Inexplicably the news story I read quotes Whyalla mayor Jim Pollock as saying that he believed the solar thermal plant would “put Whyalla in the international spotlight” and that it would “increase tourism to the city and region”. Uh, reality check here Jim, no it won’t and…no it won’t. So far it’s just a proposed solar energy system, one of many in the world that’s not particularly large, out in the desert.

Let’s wait and see what develops.

If anyone connected with the Whyalla Solar Thermal Energy project is aware of any updates to the details on this page please contact me so I can make the appropriate changes.