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A solar plant built in the 1980s in a remote opal mining town has been recognised for its pioneering contribution to the renewable energy industry.
The world-leading power station was mothballed in 2005 due to high maintenance costs. A solar power station in remote New South Wales has been included on the State Heritage Register.
The White Cliffs Solar Power Station is one of the first in the world to sell solar power commercially. It all began as an experiment, but became what is believed to be the first of its kind — not only for Australia, but the world. In 1981 a team from the Australian National University, with the financial backing of the New South Wales government, set out to research solar thermal power.
What they ended up creating was a commercial solar power station in a remote outback town without electricity. ABC Broken Hill: Kristina RosengrenThe White Cliffs Solar Power Station's rich history and pioneering contribution to the renewable industry has now been recognised with a listing on the State Heritage Register. Graeme Hanigan had not heard of the solar power station before he first visited White Cliffs in north-western NSW eight years ago.
"My wife and I … drove into town and from the hills over there you can see these sparkling dishes," Mr Hanigan said. Having worked in satellite communications Mr Hanigan had a particular interest in the station's 14 parabolic dishes. ABC Broken Hill: Kristina RosengrenOn Mr Hanigan's initiative, the White Cliffs Solar Thermal Power Station Friends Inc was formed to honour its world-leading technology by preserving it.
"It's been here for 50 years out of sheer luck, but it'll degrade, it'll fall apart and rust if we don't look after it,"The 5m dishes concentrated the Sun's rays to a central focal point to heat water and produce steam. "That's what's happened to all the other research plants around the world that were built at the same time. "Engineers Australia described it as equal to the Snowy Mountains Scheme or the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Fourteen sun-tracking parabolic dishes, each 5 metres across with 2,000 small mirrors on their surface, concentrated the sun's rays to a central focal point. Water pumped through a coil at the focal point was heated and turned into superheated steam at 1,000 pounds per square inch, and fed into a steam engine. The engine powered an alternator, as well as a DC generator that charged 150 two-volt batteries.
The station produced up to 25 kilowatts of electricity, supplying energy to the local hospital, school, post office and 12 homes in the town.
"It was purely wind generators for your power or a petrol or diesel generator. "Graham Welling, the publican, said it was the best thing when shut that diesel down that had been running their refrigerators. A model of the parabolic dishes at the White Cliffs Solar Power Station. Rob Dyson is a tour operator in White Cliffs where temperatures regularly climb to the mid-40s in summer.
To escape the heat, many of the roughly 150 locals live in "dugouts", homes carved out of the hills which keep temperatures consistent at about 20 to 22 degrees Celsius. ABC Broken Hill: Kristina Rosengren" went and put weather stations all around the state and they found that White Cliffs had the most daily average sunlight hours than anywhere else in NSW," he said.
Rob Dyson says the outback town was chosen for a solar power station due to its consistent sunshine.
"It is the reason that we have what we have in the way of solar in the world today," he said. "It's not just created something for the state or the country, it's created something for the world. " The station was adapted to photovoltaic technology in 1997 and continued operating until it was mothballed in 2005 due to high maintenance costs.
In early September, the solar plant received state heritage listing, providing heritage protection to the 14 parabolic dishes, water tanks and the building containing the original steam engine, computers and associated equipment. Alexandra Boukouvalas says the plant received a state heritage listing due to its historic, technological and scientific research potential. Senior manager of heritage programs Alexandra Boukouvalas said the listing would help put the site on the map.
"State Heritage Register items tell the stories of NSW. That's a big drawcard for people to come into regional areas and experience what's important to all of us, as people for NSW," she said.
"A little town like this relies heavily on tourism," he said. ABC Broken Hill — local news in your inbox
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