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).
Tags: carbon, change, climate, co2, dioxide, electricity, Emissions, energy, enviromission, environment, farms, gas, Global, Green, heat, house, mega, nuclear, oil, panels, pilot, plant, pollution, power, production, radiation, reduction, renewable, Solar, SUN, technologies, Tower, Warming, watts, wind
February 25th, 2009 at 2:27 am
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.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
Beautiful way to make electricity
April 27th, 2009 at 8:36 am
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.
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
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.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:58 am
its a good idea, but still the draw backs of space and material are still important.
May 26th, 2009 at 11:15 am
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…
May 26th, 2009 at 11:16 am
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
June 1st, 2009 at 7:35 am
looks super!
July 18th, 2009 at 6:02 am
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 ?
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:20 am
Spettacolare, altro che nucleare!
September 12th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
hecterrrrs
October 5th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
what if empty malls&parking lots across the US had these plants in them???
October 16th, 2009 at 10:54 am
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?
October 20th, 2009 at 6:12 am
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.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
EnviroMission Solar Tower Wins Southern California Public Power Authority: Press Release on Enviromission’s website.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:16 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.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:40 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…
December 25th, 2009 at 1:46 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 !
January 9th, 2010 at 4:16 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.
January 9th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Now that’s a great idea! Mulit-use all the way!
January 9th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
That’s an idea. I kinda like that.
January 9th, 2010 at 4:22 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.
February 15th, 2010 at 12:43 am
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…
February 26th, 2010 at 3:55 am
There should be one in every country.
April 10th, 2010 at 6:40 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