Researchers from the Technion – Israel Institute of Science have designed a product that could easily produce between 15 and 20 times the total electricity the world uses today. They call it the ‘Energy tower’; it works on the basic principle of convection: hot air rises and cold air falls. Not only that, it could also be used as a desalination device and may be able to reverse the effects of global warming.
The 3,000-foot tall tower, with a diameter of 1200 feet, would take advantage of the heavy falling weight of cold air. Any kind of water – from sea or drainage ditch – would be added to the top of the tower, that would cool the hot air at the top, and heavy cooled air would then sink downwards, gathering speed as it falls, and would be used to power turbines at the tower’s base. The turbines would be connected to a generator, which produces electricity.
Because it relies on the sun for hot air, the Energy Tower is considered a type of solar power. Due to the original hot air required at the top, the concept would work best in hot, dry climates. The researchers also predict that the project would be cheap – electricity generated from this method would cost just 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, cheaper than solar, hydro-electric, and wind power.
Zaslavsky explains that the tower design could also be used for water desalination, producing fresh water at only half the cost of existing desalination technologies. The water reserves might be used locally for a number of purposes, including desert irrigation, the production of bio-fuels such as sugar, or for fish farming – an energy efficient form of agriculture.
Finally, the Energy Tower might help the Earth cool itself, and actually reverse global warming. ‘Hadley Cell Circulation’ is a natural process whereby the earth cools itself, but it mostly occurs only near the equator. But by cooling air around it, often in desert regions, the Energy Tower could expand the effects of this global cooling process.
This project has all the positives, but what it lacks is implication. No financers to finance the project? I see nothing wrong with the project and it is a multiple utility concept. So where are the loop holes?
via: Israel21c
