Partnership with the US delivers new solar technology

Minister for the Environment and heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, said a new deal worth more than $10 million dollars agreed in August under the US-Australia Climate Action Partnership (CAP) would improve the economic viability of solar power throughout the world.

"The agreement between Australian company, Solar Systems, and the US' Spectrolab Inc, a subsidiary of Boeing, is the result of Australia's practical approach to international cooperation on climate change and brings together the expertise of these two companies," Senator Campbell said.

"Through the CAP initiative, the two companies have taken Spectrolab's very high effiency solar cells, which were originally designed for space applications such as powering satellites, and have optimised them for land-based use."

The solar cells are three times more efficient than typical solar panels. Under the initial deal, Spectrolab will supply 500,000 solar cells to Solar Systems for use in their solar concentrators, creating more than 26 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. Solar Systems successfully trialled the new technology in April at its Hermannsburg power station in central Australia. It upgraded one of its "concentrating dishes' from a capacity of 24 to 35 kW simply by replacing the existing silicon cells with the new technology.

17/10/2006