EnviroMission and the Solar Tower on the Discovery Channel

[brettrodli]

EnviroMission via press release "EnviroMission Solar Tower Project Financial Commitment". EVM has received a formal commitment to provide the entire development and construction capital for EVM's first solar tower power station being developed in La Paz county Arizona to deliver the terms of a power purchase agreement with the SCCPA.

The financing is subject to the due diligence and the acceptance of related banking instruments by EVM's legal adivsors and bankers..."100% pure equity".

[SunGreenSolarEnergy]

There's been a lot of news recently about sunspots and solar flares. I was wondering if these have any effect on solar power systems? Do they create more electricity than normal during solar activity?

[SuperKenny720]

iT'S COLD AS HELL RIGHT NOW!



[DuncanTheNarrowGauge]

Cool. How about we make Burj Khalifa into that?

[MotorMill]

This concept has been around for a few decades. They did experiments in Spain back in the early 90's. The original plant used a single vertical wind turbine that produced about 30kw, and plastic sheeting instead of glass. They were surprised to find that plants thrived under it like in a green house.

[drmodestoesq]

The one question I have about this tower is why the greenhouse section is not filled with sea water. Water vapour is less dense than air so it would rise up through the tower. Then the distilled water would rain down in the immediate area creating a microclimate. The the high salt content water could then be either sold to Indonesia or the magnesium chloride could be sold to magnesium processors (perhaps using the electricity from the tower) or returned to the ocean.

[haimaphil]

@drmodestoesq It may require more energy to heat the water, while turf would heat almost instantly. Besides water and salt may catalyse corrosion of metal structures. Although water and salt can store heat, and give it away during the night.

[drmodestoesq]

Here's an idea for the tower.  Make it out of sections of tubular steel like a radio mast. Arranged in a tube shape, obviously. They run cables, like a radio mast down to the ground anchors. Then, of course, cover the inside with some sort of membrane. Many radio masts have been built to a height of 2000 feet.

[brettrodli]

EnviroMission Solar Tower Wins Southern California Public Power Authority: Press Release on Enviromission's website.

[knightman57]

The Enviromission power tower concept can work and work well. However there is no reason why the heat collection canopy could not include an inviroment for a population, town or small city which by itself generates heat which is recycled by the tower. The canopy can also work as a protective climate controlled area in which to grow anything a super greenhouse of sorts . using the power tower on an Island which included open sea under the canopy would also be a very good.

[tajbehem]

We need to do it ASAP!

[edratliff]

Totally unfeasible.

I have the specs in front of me:

In order to have a respectable capacity of 200MW the plant must have the following configuration:

Tower Height - a whopping 3,280 feet

Tower Diameter - 393 feet

Collector Diamter - 22,965ft THATS OVER 4.5 miles!

Itll take about 3 years to produce as much energy as is took to build the thing. The idea is great, but it's just too MASSIVE to be competitive even today. I hope they find a way around the upright tower thats the killer

[LordBLB]

"Totally unfeasible"

I was thinking the same thing. But what if they were to wrap Photovoltaic panels around the diameter of the tower to collect even more sunlight as it passes over it during the course of the day?

Combining multiple technologies just might do the trick here...

[lcabosa]

@LordBLB complementary technologies..., create a floating updraft collector field , with a otec at the bottom of the tower and u have a giant distill apparatus to create a "river from the sky". by the way the air flux income comes from a Urban area on the rim of the floating field, here little radiators call humans produce a lot of heat , air conditioning solved. the submerged part of the field u could have a coral metropolis for others species, i m working on it....

[AGTLI]

@edratliff This thing is designed to last 80 years, 3 years to recoup the investment is hardly an unreasonable time frame.

[solarstory]

This is a fantastic video. Really impressive. My hat is off to these people. We've been using chimneys in our homes for centuries with these same principles.

[maxfreshz]

great idea, i really hope this and other similar ideas get built soon. we really need to start utilizing clean renewable energy sources as soon as possible.

[briannj497]

Wow, great idea...I hope is has good results.

[Dad103]

Has a construction cost been estimated for this project. And where are the resources for its construction coming from and will the preparation of those parts and supplies create a further carbon imprint or are they green produced. The glass I imagine requires excessive temperatures. Perhaps he should look at Spain's use of PVF.

[NicoleVanZyl]

The wealthy oil sheiks, Rothchilds and the rest of the capitalists and elitist in this world should make one for each major city in each State/province in each country around the world .. but the ammount it would cost for the glass and concrete, steel and manpower, they would probably rather build yet another palace or island for themselves.

[SnowyIceMountain]

Love it!!!!!! companies that put pollution in our world everyday make me so mad...it sickens me. Noones doing anything about it, untill now. Thats just a start, but we have to do more. WE HAVE TO

[JeanJacquesBouchet]

Very smart but it will be hard to build a tower that high. I thought that before to make somekind of gigantic elevator to space. It would have to be built in light tissue with nylon.

[Deathridesahorse2]

Not sure if it is cost efficient...the original was supposed to be 1 kilometre high and cost 800 Million Australian for 200MW. That's no longer the case...though the Government has just changed from a Nuclear Nut-case we all called "the little Poison Gnome" to a staunchly anti_Nuclear fellow we all like to call "Heavy Kevvie". I like it for it's simplicity tho. Hey, I would like to see it happen: don't get me wrong!

[milofonbil]

It's relatively low-tech. But it will surely be the 8th wonder of the world. Maybe they will invent a machine which will build the tower in a big spiral - essentially building more and more reinforced concrete on previous rows of concrete its already built as it goes around. Tons and tons of steel and concrete.

[snowman4242424242]

How close to reality is it?

[Antipico]

I've done few small scale kodels and it works great. I think this is something we should take seriously and start uilding.

[josell18]

is a good invent

[borncoza]

Gigantic!

[sourfeet]

Awesome!