Solar Tower – Renewable Energy Green Global Warming
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EnviroMission Limited (www.enviromission.com.au) produced this 5 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 based on simple fundamentals of physics — hot air rises. Solar Tower technology has the potential to offer competitive renewable energy with equal reliability to fossil fuel generators. A single 200MW Solar Tower power station will provide enough electricity to power around 400000 households. The energy output will represent an annual saving of more than 1960000 tonnes of greenhouse CO2 gases from entering the environment when compared to brown coal emissions in Victoria. The greenhouse savings equate to the removal of approximately 500000 cars from the road. The Australian Solar Tower project consists of six distinct phases, the first two of which (project optimization and pre-feasibility commercialization) have already been completed. The third phase (final feasibility), paving the way for the implementation of the next three phases (final design, construction, and commercial operation).
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25 Comments
September 17th, 2010 at 9:27 am
The solar chimney can operate AT NIGHT, as the ground is heated and that heat is used at night.
The Green Tower people have designed enhancements to this effect that allows their tower to run at 89% at night, with 6 DAYS reserve, no plumbing needed.
2/3 of the greenhouse area is suitable for farming with about a 170% increase in crop output.
It could be a housing co-op, with about 3400 shareholders sharing the costs and profits. Who needs big investors? Same price as a coal fired plant.
September 17th, 2010 at 9:43 am
OMG, it’s getting so freaking hot in Phoenix this summer (like every summer) that we’d power half the country with those.
September 17th, 2010 at 10:08 am
absolutely beautifully simple! i have long thought our energy needs will not be solved by hi tech, carbon heavy solutions, simplicity is the way to go, a perfect example i applaud the inventors!! simpler is better!!! absolutely perfect.
September 17th, 2010 at 10:31 am
@aargh5 Clever guy do you realy think they could achieve a tower that strech thru the artmosfeer na dont think so
September 17th, 2010 at 10:45 am
How does the air go in in the first place? From the sides?
September 17th, 2010 at 11:34 am
@GFS05np we should just eliminate asphalt as a whole…
its gonna prevent the earth beneath it from flourishing and growing.
but how can we make something good enough and biodegradeble to replace tar and cement?
hmmm
September 17th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Would this work in the British Isles?
September 17th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
There should be one in every country.
September 17th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
keep in mind that this is just a 1/5 scale prototype of the actual tower that they want to build. and this tower isn’t meant for energy output as its main goal (but it still is) its meant to be a test to figure out what materials and settings work best so when the make the real one it will be as efficient as possible.
Also this was shut down after 8 years because it was structurally unstable. I think they are currently building or at the least still designing the full scale one…
September 17th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I admire the arguement you present however the numbers even equate a better total. 900 tons on 1 job for a natural powerplant that lasts 20+ yrs. heck, some nuclear plants are close to 50 yrs old. Over the long term, the numbers do add up to significant reduction.
September 17th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
That’s an idea. I kinda like that.
September 17th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Now that’s a great idea! Mulit-use all the way!
September 17th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
interesting but not very realistic unfortunately. What we could start doing is actually building shuttles/crafts in space just outside of the Earth. Doing so would reduce need for blasting through gravity & saving that much extra fuel.
September 17th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I see this is quiet old but, did it ever take off ?
Plastic sheet, empty tube/tower and turbine – cheap, easy to set up, and it can possible be used to collect water as well !
September 17th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
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…
September 17th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Good idea but there might be one problem.
I think its air which comes out at the top of a solar tower. if the solar power is so big it goes into the space, wouldnt that mean that some air will go into deep space and not come back to earth. Sooner or later all air has been sent up to Space and we will all die.
September 17th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
EnviroMission Solar Tower Wins Southern California Public Power Authority: Press Release on Enviromission’s website.
September 17th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
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.
September 17th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
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?
September 17th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
what if empty malls&parking lots across the US had these plants in them???
September 17th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
hecterrrrs
September 17th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Spettacolare, altro che nucleare!
September 17th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
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 ?
September 17th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
looks super!
September 17th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
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