Solar World Record Claimed in Australia
The Australian National University (ANU) says its scientists have set a world record for efficiency for a solar thermal dish generating steam that could be used for power stations.
The team designed and built a new receiver for the solar concentrator dish at ANU, halving losses and achieving a 97% conversion of sunlight into steam. According to the university, the breakthrough could lead to the generation of cheaper base-load electricity from renewable energy and help lower carbon emissions.
“When our computer model told us the efficiency that our design was going to achieve, we thought it was alarmingly high,” says Dr John Pye, from the ANU Research School of Engineering. “But when we built it and tested it, sure enough, the performance was amazing.”

Martin Sercombe