Solar Power

illy

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illerino if youre not into the whole brevity thing

Re: Solar Power

« Reply #15 on: November 19, 2007, 10:29:25 PM »

Quote from: chovy on November 19, 2007, 02:28:58 PM

negatory...I still stand by my original statement that innovation will improve efficiency, as it is/has/and will continue to do for the tech industry.

I agree with this, and if we had put anywhere near the resources into improving solar efficiency as into developing and using petroleum, I think we would have much better solar now.

I think I might need to write a few emails soon.

Thats sounds pretty cool with your coworkers car Biker.


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illy

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illerino if youre not into the whole brevity thing

Re: Solar Power

« Reply #16 on: November 19, 2007, 10:45:07 PM »

I also like the idea of solar furnaces and solar thermal power.

The idea operates on the same principle as Archimedes death ray, a series of mirrors each adjusted to reflect sunlight to the same spot.

Solar 2 power project in the Mojave Desert.

PS10 Solar Power Tower Near Seville, Spain


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allpoints

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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #17 on: November 20, 2007, 03:26:20 PM »

Quote from: chovy on November 19, 2007, 02:28:58 PM

negatory...I still stand by my original statement that innovation will improve efficiency, as it is/has/and will continue to do for the tech industry.

While I agree with you in principle, I think seeing solar power efficiencies as following Moore's Law is a bit sanguine. I think there are many, many people who would like to come up with the "key" to unlock cheap solar, but they haven't hit on it so far. There's lots of $$ available for directed research in solar power. If someone came up with the means to double current efficiencies and lower costs in one fell swoop, they'd be worldwide superstars on the order of Salk, or Bell.
I don't think kicking in a little more funding or tax breaks will move things along much faster. The motivation is already there.

Organization and directed effort is what made the space program doable in the 60s. I think it would take something along those lines to make maximum progress toward the goal.

That requires selling it to the public like Kennedy sold the Space Program. Very little chance of that happening any time soon...


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illy

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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #18 on: November 20, 2007, 08:10:55 PM »

If only we could get into a solar race with Iran.


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Wiglaf

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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #19 on: December 28, 2007, 02:52:13 AM »

Quote from: illy on November 19, 2007, 10:45:07 PM

Solar 2 power project in the Mojave Desert.

I've driven past this plant many times.


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Fredledingue

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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #20 on: February 08, 2008, 11:47:57 AM »

There is also the concept of wind tower aka solar chemney which look promising for a stable electric power production.

Quote

What is a Solar Tower A Solar Tower uses the power of the sun and the fact that heat rises to generate zero emission electricity. Sunlight heats the air at the base of very tall tower which then rises and turns an electricity generating turbine. With a very tall tower the updraft effect sucks the heated air even more rapidly upwards increasing the amount of electricity which can be generated.

At ground level a wide air-tight transparent collector is constructed covering a wide area of land to capture as much of the sun's energy as possible using the greenhouse effect. The air in the collector heats up and rises up through the tall chimney built in its centre turning the turbines located near the base of the chimney. The collector stays warm throughout the night enabling significant amounts of electricity to be generated even when it is dark.

Air at 30 degrees Celcius at the edge of the collector is heated up to around 70 degrees Celcius at the centre. The temperature differential between the top and bottom of the tower results in an updraft velocity of around 15 metres per second which means that maintenance crews can do their work without requiring generator down time.

A 50kW prototype solar tower (pictured above) was constructed in Spain way back in 1982. This plant 150km south of Madrid had an 800 foot diameter collector and a 600 foot tall 33 foot wide tower. Over the next seven years the solar tower operated for 15,000 hours during which time enormous amounts of tests were undertaken. It proved possible to run the power plant automatically with just one supervisor required, and the concept was proven to be a very reliable means of generating clean electricity.

It was also found that by using heat storage units within the collector space, it is possible to store energy so that electricity can be generated during peak demand - an advantage over traditional photovoltaic solar panel electricity generation. Shutter doors at the top of the collector can be opened and closed automatically to keep or release the stored heat energy. The ground under the glass collector is covered with a heat absorbant membrane to help store energy and make 24-hour operation possible.

Here is a miniature created by students
source
source

Here is a prototype built in Spain 25 years ago (the idea is not new)

Here is an australian project: The tallest construction ever.

source


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Abraxas

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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #21 on: February 08, 2008, 09:06:18 PM »

Sorry, but is there anything about cost? I skimmed the sources but didn't see a figure.


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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #22 on: February 09, 2008, 03:12:51 AM »

Quote from: Abraxas on February 08, 2008, 09:06:18 PM

Sorry, but is there anything about cost? I skimmed the sources but didn't see a figure.

They say the Australian solar tower has an estimated cost of 670 million $, whereas a coal power plant with equal output would cost 440 million $. Anyway the estimate cost includes that the tower is a prototype and there's a lot of development costs atached to it (would be the tallest structure ever); further towers would be cheaper to build. Also the cost of coal plant is for construction cost only, and does not account for the cost of its environmental footprint.


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Fredledingue

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Re: Solar Power

« Reply #23 on: February 09, 2008, 11:10:40 AM »

Nor do they count for coal consumption.

The solar chemney is a relatively simple structure with no high tech or hazardous technology.

What is amazing is that one such tower works in Spain for 25 years and no one thought of using it on a larger scale.

Well, maybe they waited for some global warming for efficiency reasons.


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