Finding alternative uses for solar thermal energy

Australia is an extremely sunny country, making it an ideal place to implement large-scale solar energy projects. However, while the country is increasingly relying on renewables for electricity production, many industries still depend on fossil fuels for heat.

One of the more promising sources of renewable energy is particle-based concentrated solar thermal energy. Mirrors focus sunlight onto a central point where particles absorb and retain the heat. This heat can be used to generate electricity, but it can also be supplied directly.

Beath et al. assessed the possibility of employing particle-based solar thermal power as a heat source. Their work examined thousands of industrial sites across Australia to determine if solar thermal devices would be viable compared to traditional furnaces.

“The case study assessments performed on industrial sites with a large range of thermal energy requirements show that the new particle-based solar thermal technologies have a much broader range of applicability than previous technologies,” said author Andrew Beath.

The researchers examined many mineral processing, food processing, and chemical production sites across the country, and determined how much they would benefit from an installed particle-based solar thermal plant to supply them with heat. At many sites, a solar plant would be comparable in cost to a natural gas-powered furnace but without the harmful emissions.

“Our intent in publishing the analysis is to highlight the potential non-electricity applications of the new solar technologies, hopefully leading to demonstration at industrial scale,” said Beath.

Source: “Techno-economic assessment of application of particle-based concentrated solar thermal systems in Australian industry,” by Andrew Beath, Mehdi Aghaei Meybodi, and Geoffrey Drewer, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy (2022). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0086655 .