Sunrise CSP - Big Dish
Sunrise CSP’s core technology is the Big Dish which is a high-performance solar energy concentrator. Sunrise CSP’s Big Dish is a 3rd generation technology that has benefited from over 40 years of research & development commencing at the Australian National University (ANU) in the 1970s. Sunrise CSP owns the patents for the Big Dish structure, the Mirror Panels and the SUMO Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage charging system. We are the exclusive global licensee of the ANU’s Super-heated Steam Receiver, the world’s highest efficiency solar boiler.
Thermal Power
Thermal Power
436 KW *
@ DNI 900W / m2
Steam Temp. & Pressure
600°C / 160 bar *
Footprint
625 m2 / Dish *
Dish Diameter: 25 m
Eg. Steam Output of 1 Dish
467 kg / Hour *
DNI: 900W / m2; Water Inlet Temp: 60°C; Steam Outlet Temp: 500°C; Steam Pressure: 50 bar
What is Big Dish?
The Big Dish is the world’s largest solar concentrating dish with a 500m2 surface area that delivers highly concentrated solar energy (>2000 suns) to a receiver. This energy is then used to make steam in the Receiver at temperatures and pressures ranging from 100oC to 600oC and 1bar to 160bar depending on the application. This steam can be used for process heating or cooling or electricity generation.
Why Big Dish?
- Superior Optical Efficiency
High optical efficiency is achieved by having the full face of the dish tracking the sun at all times. Dual-axis tracking ensures that the Big Dish does not suffer any cosine losses, unlike tower/heliostat, trough and Fresnel concentrator systems. Combined with our high-performance mirror panels, with less than 1.5 mrad slope error and >94% reflectivity, our dishes deliver superior optical efficiency, typically about 90%. - High-Temperature Operation
The Big Dishes high concentration ratio (>2,000 suns) creates thermal energy at temperatures approaching 2,000oC. Today, this high-temperature thermal energy is used to create steam at 100oC to 600oC. The next generation of Receiver technologies will deliver high temperature thermochemistry to produce hydrogen, ammonia and other fuels and chemicals, and support high-temperature processes like sintering of metals, ceramics, plastics and other materials. - Superior Thermal Efficiency
The high concentration ratio of the Big Dish (>2000 suns) means a much lower receiver area subject to thermal losses by radiation and convection. Testing by the Australian National University has demonstrated Receiver thermal efficiencies of 97%, the same as a state-of-the-art fossil-fuel steam boiler system. When combined with high-optical efficiency this means the overall solar-to-thermal efficiency of a Big Dish is approximately 87%. - Modular & Scalable
One Big Dish delivers 436 kW thermal power (@ 950W DNI) with a land-use footprint of just 625 m2. Big Dish plants can be as small as 1 dish to many hundreds of dishes connected by a steam pipe network. Energy losses in the network are negligible due to low-cost piping insulation. Large plants can be built and commissioned in stages to realise the benefits from each stage as early possible, with progressive expansion that aligns with expanding demand for energy or investment milestones. - Low Cost Per Unit of Energy
The 500m2 dish size and efficiency dramatically reduces the solar field fixed costs (motors, control systems, receivers, etc) and land area needed. Additionally, a light weight, low-cost and highly accurate space frame structure that is rapidly assembled combined with mirror panels designed for mass manufacture / installation bring down the installation cost.
Efficiency of manufacture, installation, operation and solar-to-thermal conversion = a low cost per unit of energy delivered.
Customer reviews
No reviews were found for Sunrise CSP - Big Dish. Be the first to review!