Wizard Power Pty Ltd was an Australian company focused on solar technology research, development and marketing. The company was headquartered in Canberra , Australia . The company was wound up in September 2013, owing $ 8 million to creditors and employees.
Technology
Wizard Power’s technology portfolio
- The Big Dish 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 by 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
- As a result 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 Power Wizard Big Dish ‘commercial’ design, represented by the prototype located at the ANU, is based on a novel space-frame and mirror panels that are optimized for the cost-effective deployment of large (tens to hundreds of megawatt capacity) solar fields.
They have provided 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 has been developing high-temperature solar gasification solutions for the conversion of coal, biomass and other carbonaceous materials to liquid fuels, plastics and fertilizers.
Wizard Power is trying to establish a demonstration site in Whyalla , South Australia which will showcase the company’s energy storage technologies. The Whyalla Solar Storage will be a pre-commercial demonstration of energy storage, with full integration, demonstration of start up and shut down procedures, ability to intermittent solar input handle, and deliver energy on demand. This project has been sponsored by the Commonwealth Government of Australia’s Advance Electricity Storage Program. [1] [2]
The Whyalla SolarOasis [3] will use 300 Power Wizard Big Dish solar thermal concentrators to deliver a 40MWe solar thermal power plant. It was built 4 km north of Whyalla adjacent to the solar storage research facility. The plant is designed to be a power plant operating in the day and early evening to deliver electricity when it is most in demand.
230 million dollar project failure
A $ 230 million [4] has been used to power each year. for a variety of commonwealth and corporate mismanagement reasons the project did not proceed.
Renewable Energy Demonstration Program
The Whyalla SolarOasis has been supported by the Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Demonstration Program [5] [6] with a $ 60 million grant and will be developed by the SolarOasis consortium.
The Commonwealth was canceled in June 2013. [7]
References
- Jump up^ World’s leading baseload solar power station for Australia University of Sydneyaccessed 14 Aug 2008
- Jump up^ Govt urged to boost solar incentives ABCaccessed 14 Aug 2008
- Jump up^ www.solaroasis.net.au SolarOasis Project
- Jump up^ Budget funding helps huge solar project get underway ABC Rural Online
- Jump up^ $ 92 Million For Large-scale Solar Demonstration Projects The Hon Martin Ferguson – Minister for Energy Resources
- Jump up^ Whyalla Region Tackling Climate Change The Hon Simon Crean MP – Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government
- Jump up^ Whyalla SolarOasis Power Plant
