Muirhead Engineering makes steel struts for solar thermal generator project 
 
Muirhead Engineering is making 150 steel struts for the Australian National University's (ANU) solar thermal generator project.
 
Muirhead is making 150 steel struts, each of a different size to match the shape of the parabolic dishes, reported metalworker.com.au. According to the project leaders, the process will allow energy to be stored during the day for use at night. When there is sufficient heat available, ammonia will be split into nitrogen and hydrogen. At night, the elements are recombined, releasing sufficient heat to make the turbine-driving steam.
 
For its part, ANU has entered into an agreement with Wizard Power that will see the ANU's research into `Big dish' solar energy collection and storage systems incorporated in integrated solar energy solutions.
 
The 'Big dish' project is being jointly funded by a grant from the Australian government and by Wizard Power.
 
The ANU dish technology is termed as the world's largest and this contributes to its cost effectiveness. In the longer term, ANU's associated Ammonia based thermo-chemical energy storage system can be substituted for direct steam generation, thus providing for 24-hour power production.
 
The ANU 400m² solar concentrator dish system prototype was completed in 1994. It is a prototype high performance solar concentrator intended for use in large arrays for multi-megawatt scale electric power generation.