White Cliffs Solar Power Station is Australia's first solar power station. It is located at White Cliffs, New South Wales, which was chosen as it has the highest insolation in New South Wales, and in 1981 when the station was constructed had no grid connection. Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ... Oil power plant in Iraq Coal power plant in China A power station (also power plant) is a facility for the generation of electric power. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... Insolation is the incoming solar radiation that reaches a planet and its atmosphere. ...

Constructed by a team from Australian National University, the station consisted of fourteen three-metre parabolic dishes, each covered by more than 2000 mirrors and mounted on a heliostatic mounting. The dishes each focussed the sun's rays on a collector, where water was boiled. The steam drove a conventional turbine, delivering up to 25kWe. Batteries were used to provide 24 hour power to selected buildings in the township, and an existing diesel generator retained to provide battery charging when either low insolation or strong winds prevented use of the solar station for extended periods. The Australian National University (ANU), is a university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. ... A parabola A parabola (from the Greek: παραβολή) is a conic section generated by the intersection of a cone, and a plane tangent to the cone or parallel to some plane tangent to the cone. ... A Heliostat is a device that tracks the movement of the sun. ... A laundromat in California with solar collectors on the roof. ... WWII era steam turbine used for ship propulsion. ...

In 1996, following grid connection of the township, the station was converted to photovoltaic. The dishes were resurfaced, and the original collectors each replaced by a cluster of 16 water-cooled photovoltaic cells. In its new form, the station delivers up to 45kWe. The turbine, generator, batteries and diesel have been removed, and the output is fed into the grid. A solar cell, a form of photovoltaic cell, is a device that uses the photoelectric effect to generate electricity from light, thus generating solar power (energy). ... A photovoltaic cell is a device that turns light into electric energy. ...

External links

• ROSI project at the University of Wollongong.