Green Power!!!
I came across two interesting implementations of alternative power source today.
1. The Australian Solar Tower Project.
This is based on what used to be called a Solar Chimney. The 3 main components of this structure are: the collector (a greenhouse type structure surrounding the tower), the turbines (to generate electricity with) and the tower.
The concept relies on the sun heating air in the collector forcing the heated air to rise to the tower at an accelerated pace, enough to drive turbines to generate electricity.
The project, initiated by EnviroMission in Australia, is well underway, finalizing its feasibility before proceeding with the actual construction. The tower is expected to be 1000m high, almost twice the height of the world's current tallest builing, the Taipei 101, which stands at 508m.
I first read about this project from wired:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66694,00.html
Another Wired article published much earlier:
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,54917,00.html
EnviroMission Website: www.enviromission.com.au
2. The Robert's Flying Electric Generator (FEG)
A company, Sky WindPower, intends to build rotored aircrafts tethered to the earth's surface (think balloon tied to a chair or dog on a leash). These aircrafts are to be flown upto 15,000 to 30,000 feet where the wind velocity are constantly high. Once up in the sky, the high velocity winds will drive the rotors to keep the aircraft in the air as well as drive the generator. Generated electricity will be trasmitted to the ground via the tether.
Read more here:
http://www.wired.com/news/planet/0,2782,67121,00.html?tw=wn_story_page_prev2
Sky WindPower Website: www.skywindpower.com
|
