A new 500 m2 paraboloidal dish solar concentrator

The Australian National University (ANU) has worked for many years on paraboloidal dish solar concentrators and demonstrated a 400 m2 system in 1994. The commercialization of this technology has involved a re-design of the Big Dish concept for mass production. The new design is a 500 m2 concentrator with 13.4 m focal length and altitude–azimuth tracking. It uses 380 identical spherical 1.17 m 1.17 m mirror panels, which incorporate the Glass-on-Metal Laminate mirrors. Construction of a first prototype on the ANU campus began in the first quarter of 2008. The first on sun test was carried out on 29 June 2009. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.