Thermal Focus, a Beijing-based company, is dealing with Australia's CSIRO for a patented solar power technology. (Photo : Getty Images)
China will utilize Australian solar thermal technology to reach its target of producing 5 gigawatts of concentrated solar thermal electricity by 2020.
The partnership with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia will allow Chinese company Thermal Focus to make, sell and install CSIRO's patented solar heliostat technology and design software in China.
Larry Marshall, chief executive of CSIRO, said that the partnership will take their climate mitigation focus to a global stage and help generate cleaner energy, cost savings and technology export benefits for Australia.
The shared revenue stream will be used to fund other climate research back in Australia.
The heliostat technology utilizes numerous mirrors that follow the path of the sun during the day and bring reflected sunlight onto a receiver. The sun beam will then heat "molten salt" for generating a hot steam, which then generates power through a turbine.
China is aggressive in developing its solar power industry. The country produced 27 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules in the first half of 2016, an increase of 37.8 percent. It also installed 20 GW of new solar power capacity in the same period, three times as much as the same period a year ago.
China is also building the world's largest solar panel farm that will produce 2 gigawatts of energy for the northwest parts of the country.
