The Liddell Solar Thermal Energy Station New South Wales

Located in New South Wales, Ausra Pty Limited has developed and is expanding the world’s first solar thermal power collector system for coal‐fired power augmentation.

Ausra’s Compact Linear Fresnal Reflector (CLFR) technology began testing operations at the company’s Liddell Solar Thermal Station in 2004, initially generating one megawatt equivalent (MW) of solar‐generated steam. The solar thermal facility is located adjacent to the company’s steam host, Macquarie Generation’s coal‐fired power station.

In 2005, Ausra started construction of its Phase II, 9‐MWt solar thermal steam system (3MWe) and completed the expansion in 2008. Ausra’s land‐efficient, high durability solar collectors supply solar‐generated steam to Macquarie Generation’s 2,000‐MW Liddell Power Station, displacing a portion of coal consumption for the plant’s electric power. The Liddell Power Station is located near Muswellbrook, in the Hunter Valley adjacent to Ausra’s solar collector facility.

Ausra’s solar collectors boil water with concentrated sunshine. Mirrors track the sun, reflecting solar heat onto boiler tubes to generate steam without the costs and emissions of fossil‐fired boilers. The result is a system that produces steam directly from the sun to generate clean, reliable electricity to help meet peak power demand.