SCI/TECH: Aussie Solar Tower Finds Home

Also, sardion2000, do you think we have all the technology needed to change overnight to an alternative energy source? (in a theoretical scenario, and if our economies were not dependent on oil)

In my opinion it would take atleast a few years before such a tower will be constructed, an perhaps longer for additions to it are made like tiling it with powerchips. I went back and looked over the powerchip info and it looks like it 200-500 watts/sq. centimeter would probably be the intial power production, even at this the tower would be producing gigawatts. It appears that the chips could also be stacked in arrays, effectively increasing the output by a few factors.

The economy is in no way going to change over night, however I believe we are getting to a point when we will see a rapid transition to alternative energy sources.

Maybe I will draw up some pictures illustrating my ideas....

Also, i see at least one problem with this alternative energy source, a tower that large with solar mirrors is open to many problems, for example strong winds can throw sand and even small stones which would chip and break the solar panels, unless it has unbreakable glass covering all the solar panels. Another problem is, what happens when unexpectedly the weather does not allow the tower to collect solar energy for long periods of time? Can the backup batteries hold enough charge for a week or even more? i am not saying they shouldn't try this alternative, but they should keep in mind any problems that might arise.

I don't think that we should depend on an alternative energy source that is dependant on having a "predictable weather pattern".... i think the last few years the Earth has shown how unpredictable it's climate is.

[edit on 28-2-2005 by Muaddib]

You know what i think we should keep in mind as viable alternative sources? i think we should once more take seriously the work of people like Nikola Tesla.

Yes you are right about the weather conditions and those, I am sure, will be needed to be looked at very closely. What are the effects that such a large structure will have on the environment, and what effects will the environment have on the structure? These will need to be answered before this thing can be built(ofcourse if China is building it, then they will probably examine the problems AFTER it is built).

In regards to energy storage, some newer ultracapacitors have the capability of holding tremendous amount of electricity for a very long time. I will look up a few, like the aerogel ones, but I believe there are even better ones in the works. Heh, and then there is always the holy grail of energy storage, the room temperature superconductor.

BTW, tesla was way ahead of his time, some of his ideas for energy transfer are still considered "futuristic", indeed I know many people who are working with his ideas and how to implement them on their own devices.

[edit on 28-2-2005 by Sigma]

Ahh yes quite a brilliant invention I can't wait to see one built if they finally do it.

Kudos to China for getting on board it seems.

And it will be in Australia is the sweetest part, take that america!

thanks,
drfunk

[edit on 28-2-2005 by drfunk]

Yes, it is being built in Australia.........WITH FUNDING FROM THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT under the guise of foreign aid.

Originally posted by groingrinder
Yes, it is being built in Australia.........WITH FUNDING FROM THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT under the guise of foreign aid.

Why would Australia need foreign aid from the American government?? we have a higher HDI than they do?

thanks,
drfunk

Originally posted by groingrinder
Yes, it is being built in Australia.........WITH FUNDING FROM THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT under the guise of foreign aid.

Funny, since the article gave the impression that they have not secured all the funding yet, mostly due to the fact that the developers do not want to put a dollar figure on an estimate, but outside estimates range from 600-800 Millions USD. They are currently in negotiations with at least 2 gov'ts China and Austrailia. Can you point me in the direction where the US funds are coming from and going to? Was it to purchase the land? If so then that is negligible. If however it is say a commitment to pay for x % of the project then that is pretty significant, however I still would like some confirmation.

I cannot confirm without compromising Dynamic Laboratories sources, but it seems that the American affiliate of the company wanted to build it here in the United States, but could not get approval. However they obtained FOREIGN AID from the United States government. I am sorry that I cannot provide you with the hard evidence you require. No matter who finances it, it is a worthwhile project that needs to push forth with as much urgency as possible.

I can tell you that the Dynamic Laboratories version of the solar tower uses maglev bearings that are virtually frictionless.

I just wrote EnviroMission in regards to co-generation of energy via thermotunneling diodes. I hope to get a response from them.

"Hi,
I have been looking over you site and I must say you have a very interesting idea regarding electrical generation, however it might be in your interest to consider co-generation via thermotunneling diodes.I understand from reading your website that you are going to use efficient fans to generate electricity, 200Mw worth by directing heated air throughout the tower. There seems to be an enormous amount heat that could be used to generate extra power, multiple megawatts worth, if not more, by using said diodes.

There is a company called Powerchips that is working on an incredibly efficient heat conversion devices. By tiling the inside of your tower with these, you could generate enormous amounts of energy. I understand that you have researched the design of the tower for quite some time and therefore I do not know how these devices might impact the performance, I would hope it would be negligible.

Anyways it is just a thought.

Thanks.

BTW, the website is www.powerchips.gi, and I am in no way affliated with them, I am just a college student interested in power production."

If everything goes well, maybe I will e-mail powerchips aswell and see what they have to say.

Good for you sigma.

Let us know what happens, k?

haha! we got so much damn room down here, we should start putting them up all over the place! Interesting that they chose to put it near mildura. Suddenly Mildura is not so boring...

Hmmm... Some new information has come to light about the Solar Tower. Supposibly the tower will no longer be the biggest free-standing structure in the world, this according to EnviroMission is because of two "new" technologies that they are taking advantage of. These will allow them to have a smaller tower that is more efficient than the previous design.

I bet you one of those technologies is a heat pump of some sort, like the powerchips I suggested, however it probably isn't PC's, rather some other heat pump. Guess we need to keep an eye on these guys?