brettrodli asked:
minute video on the pilot plant in Spain. It is an older video (2000) but gives a decent understanding of the solar tower concept. EnviroMission, Ltd. (US Market: EVOMY, Australian Exchange: EVM) is a renewable energy developer of sustainable “green” energy solutions for the energy market. EnviroMission aims to be one of Australia’s leading producers of clean renewable energy. EnviroMission holds the proprietary rights to Solar Tower technology, a large-scale renewable energy technology …
this is ugly.
It is possible and plausible, but it’s still ugly. Then again, I live next to a large radio station and I think that’s ugly too.
Water towers? Nah, those are fine. Giant nuclear reactors? Well those are really ugly too. But so are the giant coal plants nearby…
EnviroMission Solar Tower Wins Southern California Public Power Authority: Press Release on Enviromission’s website.
heres an idea. make this solar tower big enough to go in space and you get a space elevator, whilst reducing global warming and greating lotsa energy.
The towers could be used as green houses to provide locally grown produce making the footprint the towers make almost negligible. The closer in your food is grown the less energy expended in it’s cycle. The best thing that could happen is fuel prices to make another sharp increase to show that using fuel is unwise why continue that which is unsustainable when you have options available today?
what if empty malls&parking lots across the US had these plants in them???
Spettacolare, altro che nucleare!
I just have one thing to say , to all of you carbon reduction supporters , all of your numbers are way off , you never take in to account the amount for carbon it takes in the production of these Green power production plants , all the coal powered plants in 3rd world countries that supply the power to produce the parts ,I have nothing against other forms of energy . If it takes 900 tons of carbon to make and it only saves 100 tons per year and only runs for 7 years ? Is it really better ?
looks super!
you’re right, lol, but I think the image of 150 something km/hour winds in a car park could be a bit of a question for health and safety people
chuck a couple in the US deserts, a few more in the saharan….we’re be fiiiiiiiiiine. As for material all there is is some sheets of plastic and a chimney, a few less things required than for a nuclear reactor or a geothermal power plant. No I like this idea, but it seems like this is a one off, that german company needs to expand and diversify me thinks before this can have a chance of taking off…
its a good idea, but still the draw backs of space and material are still important.
BP and Shell shook confidence in the UK industry when they abandoned all plans for developing wind farms in Britain last year in favour of the US, where the tax treatment and planning regime is considered far more favourable. The exit of Shell was a particular blow because it was backing the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, the London Array, off Kent.
The power output of a car is so much less than the actual power output of the fuel. A petrol engine (of any kind) is VERY inefficient.
Beautiful way to make electricity
they should build these above all the big parking lots we have.
tarmac -asphalt gets so hot. + all those hot cars. it would be very efficient.
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and then collect the rain water at weight points, & use it locally if possible.
holy cow! I read about this in popular science! I didn’t know they ACTUALLY made one!
This apparently was a pilot project built in 1982 and ran nonstop for seven years.
According to a New Scientist article, growing crops underneath actually improves efficiency, if you irrigate. The water vapour lost from the leaves is less dense than air, and so strengthens the rising air effect. Plenty of water would be required though.
I wonder how old this video is, because the turbines that the Germans are making now are so much better than the old ones. Surely, with the new turbines, the output would be even better. And I wonder if you could irrigate the land underneath to grow food, or whether that would interfere with the generator.
What is the actual function of the tower? I see that the air has a tendency to rise through the center where the generator is. Is the column of hot air then supposed to pull more air into the system as it rises?
Can we do this while maintaining a steady enough state to generate electricity from it?
I think its Tedlar, also used as backsheet for solar modules. Insulating & very resistant plastic.
Plus, there would be efficiency losses as the air rises, because the fact that the air is rising means that its energy is going elsewhere, and not ultimately towards turning the turbines blades.
The effects of Global Warming is getting much stronger these days. We should concentrate more on alternative energy to reduce carbon emissions.
Solar Energy is one of the best sources of clean and green electricity. I think that we should build more efficient solar thermal power plants and solar cells.