Coal-rich Australia warms to solar power

Growing public desire to abate climate change resulting from greenhouse gases, along with a deeper understanding that coal and other fossil fuels can't last forever, has sparked demand for more alternative energy source in Australia. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), established the country's largest solar thermal research facility, part of the CSIRO Energy Center in Newcastle. Supported by a grant from the Australian Solar Institute (ASI), the demonstration site includes a 30-m solar tower with a high-temperature receiver, and a 4000-m2 field comprising 450 heliostats. If it were connected to the grid, the setup could generate enough electricity to power more than 200 homes. The center is focused on developing new technologies for PV materials, with the ultimate goal of producing highly efficient and very durable, yet low cost, solar cells. The organization currently is backing a research project that uses solar energy to drive a desiccant-based system that dries out humid fresh air and moves it to an evaporative cooler that chills the air before it enters a building.