Solar Wind Energy Tower Inc. won approval from an Arizona city to develop a $1.5 billion project that would use ambient desert heat to create a draft to generate electricity, in a concrete colossus that would be the tallest structure in North America.
Artist impression of the Solar Wind's colossal tower which create downdraft. Image: via REW
The 2,250-feet (686-metre) project, which resembles a nuclear plant’s cooling tower, would be capable of generating at a average rate of about 435 MWh [I suspect this would be monthly average] over the course of a year, said Ron Pickett, chief executive officer of the Maryland-based company.
In July and August, the Southwest’s hottest and driest months, the plant could produce more than 1,200 MWh.
The Solar Wind power tower: How it works
Using technology created by Solar Wind, water would be injected in a mist near the top of the tower, causing the air to cool and gain density. The draft created by the sinking air would exceed 50 miles per hour. As the air is forced through a ring of turbines at the tower’s base, electricity is generated.
“This is a game-changer in certain areas — hot, dry climates,” Pickett said. The company is proposing this project near the Mexico border to prove the concept, with the goal of licensing the process to developers. The technology would work in Africa, Australia and “you can throw a dart in the Mideast, and it works there,” he said.
San Luis, a city of 26,000 residents about 20 miles southwest of Yuma, Arizona, agreed to give the project necessary rights of way and sell it water under a 50-year contract. Terms weren’t disclosed for the agreement, which was approved by the city council on April 23.
Solar Wind expects to get the project operating as early as 2018.
Although no buyers yet for the project's power, local utilities and the U.S. Defense Department have inquired about it.
Source: Renewable Energy World
Artist impression of the Solar Wind's colossal tower which create downdraft. Image: via REW
The 2,250-feet (686-metre) project, which resembles a nuclear plant’s cooling tower, would be capable of generating at a average rate of about 435 MWh [I suspect this would be monthly average] over the course of a year, said Ron Pickett, chief executive officer of the Maryland-based company.
In July and August, the Southwest’s hottest and driest months, the plant could produce more than 1,200 MWh.
The Solar Wind power tower: How it works
Using technology created by Solar Wind, water would be injected in a mist near the top of the tower, causing the air to cool and gain density. The draft created by the sinking air would exceed 50 miles per hour. As the air is forced through a ring of turbines at the tower’s base, electricity is generated.
How it works
“This is a game-changer in certain areas — hot, dry climates,” Pickett said. The company is proposing this project near the Mexico border to prove the concept, with the goal of licensing the process to developers. The technology would work in Africa, Australia and “you can throw a dart in the Mideast, and it works there,” he said.
San Luis, a city of 26,000 residents about 20 miles southwest of Yuma, Arizona, agreed to give the project necessary rights of way and sell it water under a 50-year contract. Terms weren’t disclosed for the agreement, which was approved by the city council on April 23.
Solar Wind expects to get the project operating as early as 2018.
Although no buyers yet for the project's power, local utilities and the U.S. Defense Department have inquired about it.
Source: Renewable Energy World
TheGreenMechanics: This ambitious project is not without criticism from the public; some readers argued that building the 686-metre tower would actually produce more CO2 than the potential avoidance in the foreseeable future.
Would be interesting to see this commissioned in 4 years' time.
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