|
The Rise of the Solar Tower Thursday, January 31, 2008 - Sarah Gingichashvili Home >> News >> Green Technology   
|
|
|
The Australian firm “EnviroMission” is developing a large-scale solar tower that, according to the company, will be capable of supplying electricity to 200,000 typical Australian homes. EnviroMission owns the exclusive license to the German-designed Solar Tower technology in Australia. The company expects to start producing low-cost, clean, renewable energy within five years.
|
||||||
|
A prototype tower, which was constructed in the 1980’s in Manzanares, Spain, has successfully produced electricity for seven years. This relatively small-scale pilot plant consistently generated an output of 50kW of green energy and proved that Solar Tower technology is efficient and reliable. The pilot project also showed that the system operates efficiently even on cloudy days, with only a slight drop in the power output. The system is capable of generating power also at nighttime. This is due to the fact that not only the air, but also the ground beneath it, is heated during the day. The heat absorbed by the ground is re-radiated during the night, keeping the air in the collector warm so that it continuously rises through the chimney and drives the wind turbines. The scientists say such thermal power stations could decrease power production costs to below 0.07 EUR/kWh (about $0.1/kWh), meaning that this technology will be able to compete even with the current lowest conventional power production costs. EnviroMission is planning to build a 400m-high solar plant, with a 25,000-acre solar collector at its base. The solar plant is expected to generate 200MW of power each year, and prevent over 900,000 tons of greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere. Meanwhile, however, the company is planning a smaller-scale device – a solar tower with the capacity to generate 50MW. The company hopes to build the smaller tower by the end of 2009. TFOT has previously written about a number of innovative solar power technologies, such as the “nano-flakes” – a newly discovered crystalline material that efficiently converts almost twice the amount of solar energy into electricity than conventional solar panels. You can also read about Nanosolar’s innovative ink, which is used to cost-efficiently “print” the semiconductors used in solar cells. TFOT also covered a Canadian open-source renewable energy project which aims to create a new power plant design that will use a combination of solar and geothermal energy for use in more distant locations without polluting the environment. You can find more information about EnviroMission’s project at the company’s official website. You can also take a look at a video demonstrating the futuristic solar plant here. |
||||||
|
| Related Pictures |
|
YoGen – Hand Powered Generator |
|
Hydrogen Powered Bike |
| Other Articles |
|
2008 In Technology |
|
The Rise of the Phoenix |
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
While I think the concept is very interesting your article (and the EnviroMission website as well) does not tell me what the efficiency is - unless I missed something... A 25,000 acre collector is supposed to provide 200 MW of power (btw. not \"power per year\"!). Assuming one acre is approx. 4000 sqm I end up with only 2 W/sqm. What is wrong with my calculation? As far as I know 2 W/sqm is much less less than a solar panel with 10% efficiency can produce. Why should this process be so inefficient? Thanks, Chris |
|||
|
|||
|
What happens if enviromission uses photovoltaics on their array. The install costs are essentially the same and the MW output goes up exponentially if they can find a panel which allows enough of the solar energy through to heat the air underneath. Using the most efficient solar panels available today the question should be how much more electricity can be produced by covering the 25,000 acre array with photovoltaics. |
|||
|
|||
| Yes,it is a very usefull and ecofriendly device. |
