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A solar power firm in Australia, Sunengy Pty Ltd, recently announced that they have partnered with Tata Power. Tata Power is India’s biggest integrated private power utility, and has plans with Sunengy to construct a pilot plant for its low cost, floating on water, solar technology in India by the end of 2011. This was a deal of major importance for the global application of solar power because it allows Sunengy to display the practicality of their technology in one of the world’s top solar power markets.

In August of 2011, construction on the pilot plant in India will begin. Sunengy intends to set up a larger Liquid Solar Array (LSA) system in the NSW Hunter Valley midway through 2012 prior to going into full-blown production. The main market for LSA is the arrangement of industrial scale electricity through hydropower facilities. Mining sites, villages and remote communities that rely on diesel power generators are the other markets being targeted for the solar power plants.

Tata Power partnered up with Sunengy for its interest in its patented LSA technology, which was invented by Phil Connor, the Sunengy Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer. LSA supplies the development of reduced cost and on demand and around the clock availability that is required for solar power to become widely adopted and utilized. The LSA utilizes traditional concentrated photovoltaic technology, which is a lens and a small area of solar cells that track the sun during the day; similar to the way a sunflower works. By floating the LSA on water, the necessity for costly support structures to protect it from high-winds is drastically reduced. The lenses descend into the water in bad weather and the water helps to cool the cells, which helps to increase their efficiency and lifespan.

Hydropower supplies 87% of the world’s renewable energy and 16% of the world’s power but it is limited by its water resource. An LSA installation could match the power output of a standard hydro dam utilizing less than 10% of its surface area and providing an extra 6-8 hours of power per day. LSA is incredibly effective when it comes to turning a dam into a very big battery, offering free solar storage and the occasion for improved water resource management. LSA requires no heavy materials or large land acquisitions and is cyclone proof.
By using only 1% of India’s 30,000 square kilometers of captured water with the system, enough power can be generated to power the equivalent of 15 large coal-fired power stations. The developing technology will be on display in a natural environment, and will use the water surface for support. The best part is that the technology will not compete with land that can be used for alternative proposes.

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