 |
| Central Solar-Power Plants |
 |
Location Mildura, Australia
Type of structure Solar Tower power plant with steel-reinforced concrete tower and steel/glass solar air collector (alternative with polymer glazing)
Owner/Client Enviromission
Expected completion 2008
Scope of our work Conceptual design, detailed design
Solar Tower power plants are the only large scale solar electricity generating systems today which can provide electricity 24 h a day from solar energy alone without the need for any additional fuel. In a Solar Tower power plant air is heated by solar radiation under a low circular glass roof open at the circumference; the roof and the natural ground below it form a hot air collector. A vertical tower tube with large air inlets at its base stands in the centre of the glass roof. The joint between the roof and the tower base is airtight. As hot air is lighter than cold air it rises up the tower. Suction from the tower then draws in more hot air from the collector and cold air comes in from the outer perimeter. The energy of the air flow is converted into mechanical energy by pressure-staged wind turbines at the base of the tower, and then into electrical energy by electric generators coupled to the turbines. A single Solar Tower power plant with a collector area of 7 000 m in diameter built and operated in an area with an annual global solar radiation of 2 300 kWh/mē a will generate between 700 and 800 GWh per year. Thus a small number of Solar Tower power plants can even replace a large nuclear power station.
Power 200 MW
Diameter approx. 6,000 m - 7,000 m
Height 1,000 m
Collector area max. approx. 38 kmē
Animation bgp design