Solar UPDRAFT Tower

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Solar Updraft Tower

Members: 35
Latest Activity: Oct 2

Solar Updraft Tower Technology Discussion

This group hosts knowledge development and sharing for Solar Updraft Tower technology.

Spirited engineering debates about this area of Wind Power generation are encouraged. The feasability of this technology can be explored within the constraints of the Pickens Plan.

At http://sbp.de/en/html/solar/aufwindkraftwerk.htm they call it a Solar Chimney.
Enviromission in Austrailia is struggling to build a 450 meter tall Solar Updraft Tower that will produce Megawatts of power. The Austrailian government has pulled the rug out from under them.

A working model of a Solar Updraft tower, fully functional and producing power ran in Manzanares Spain for most of 9 years. The last stages of Research and Development were focused on crop design under the Solar Green House which I also refer to as the Solar Canopy, because it can also cover things like crops, or PV and Solar Film arrays.

Enviromission has a very nice video.

Remember, there was a working design that ran for 9 years.

Of concern for this technology with respect to its feasability, IMHO, the installation of a power plant using Solar Updraft Tower power production technology must include another significant installation of Alternative Energy production that exhibits strong synergy within the economy of scale demanded by Alternative Energy rollout. Here is a link which demonstrates the combination of the Algae biosphere production technology for high grade fuel oil produced in a pond underneath a Solar Updraft Tower canopy, or greenhouse, (skirt).

A more modern discussion of the most recent breakthrough in Algae biosphere fuel production has caused a stir amongst Pickens Plan members recently, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html

I will try to update some links above, (in the discussion header), which point to dual and multiple Alternative Energy infrastructure synergies that utilize the land requirements of Solar Updraft Tower most efficiently. The Kathy's like it, :)

Discussion Forum

Wind/Updraft Synergy 4 Replies

Imagine a solar updraft tower where the wall of the tower is a stack of toroidal balloons filled with a buoyant gas such as He or NH3. The tower actually erects itself by floats into the sky! This ...

Tagged: chimney, solar, floating, wind, NH3

Started by James Bowery. Last reply by Ira Sorkin Oct 2.

The Oil (from algae) Prize 2 Replies

Thanks for citing my proforma for a solar updraft tower algae biosphere. We can expect some serious technical milestones to be crossed before reaching this revolutionary reduction of the human ecol...

Tagged: chimney, footprint, invest, tower, updraft

Started by James Bowery. Last reply by Larry M. Aden Jan 14.

Paper Out of China on Solar Updraft Tower Optimization 1 Reply

If I am interpreting this paper right, the importance to electrical generation of a water vapor condenser downdraft, as proposed in the solar updraft tower algae biosphere, is more than I thought. ...

Tagged: biosphere, algae, tower, updraft, solar

Started by James Bowery. Last reply by Jim Martin Oct. 17, 2008.

I like this better . . . 3 Replies

These are much more attractive than the wind turbines too. Seems like these would be more environmentally friendly. Has Pickens seen this?

Started by Kathryn Bryant. Last reply by Jim Martin Oct. 7, 2008.

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Comment by Larry M. Aden on January 13, 2009 at 12:58pm: I would like to invite all of those among you that have yet to get my invitation to visit my recent blog posting on towers - http://www.push.pickensplan.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2187034%3ABlogPost%3A1756462

I invite your comments, and hope you enjoy the discussion of the potential.

Comment by Thomas Dixon on October 11, 2008 at 11:28am: As to facts and figures on energy cost per capital outlay I'll let people research and decide for themselves.

I wish someone would run some figures on the energy potential of the machine outlined below as well

http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/ThomasDixon

Comment by Jim Martin on October 9, 2008 at 12:41pm: In response to a question from Pat Jack, reflectors in orbit would act like solar sails. Small vanes would probably be used to control the sail forces when the reflectors are rotated to target different targets and keep up with angle changes as they go around the Earth.

Comment by Jim Martin on October 9, 2008 at 12:38pm: When water drains, it forms a vortex. When air goes toward the tower, it could also form a vortex. Adding vanes to guide the air near the inlet could encourage the formation of a vortex. The turbine can then be designed to take advantage of the vortex and extract more power. This would be similar to the way guide vanes are used in turbojet engines. It would not interfere with combined concepts such as the Solar Windmill, buoyant tower support, or agriculture under the greenhouse.

Comment by Jim Martin on October 8, 2008 at 3:49pm: Several concepts combine well with the basic Solar Updraft tower: the Solar Windmill, the Floating Solar Chimney, and agriculture, such as algae, under the greenhouse. Another option is to put reflectors in low Earth orbit and reflect light to the greenhouse. If the reflectors are in sun-synchronous orbit, they could add light at morning and evening.

Comment by Jim Martin on September 19, 2008 at 2:31pm: Enviromission merged with solar mission

http://www.solarmissiontechnologies.com/index.html

Comment by Dr. Norman LaFave on August 11, 2008 at 8:11am: Cost of construction and price per killowatt to pay for it?

Comment by vinbeazel on August 9, 2008 at 7:53pm: You will also find this video posted on our web site: AlternativeEnergy.com/videos

EnergyTalk LIVE did a show today on the Pickens energy plan and most of us are very supportive of the man and the plan. It is time we make technical training in energy our top priority across the country.

We at AlternativeEnergy.com propose to make energytalk LIVE a fixture on every campus and/or community centers, as a continuation of the computer literacy campaigns in California in the mid nineties.

Come help expand our radio shows; the schedule is posted on our web site.

Comment by Jim Martin on August 9, 2008 at 2:19pm: The Solar Tower concept is similar to the Solar Windmill concept I have patented. The Solar Tower only generates electricity from the solar heating. The Solar Windmill uses about the same hardware and also generates electricity from wind. When both wind and sun are available, the Solar Windmill uses both.