Company to Build 2,250 Feet Tall Solar Wind Downdraft Tower in Arizona
Posted on May 12, 2014
Bloomberg reports that Solar Wind Energy Tower Inc. (SWET) has won a $1.5 billion contract to construct a Solar Wind Downdraft Tower in Arizona. The 2,250-feet (686 meters) tower will be the tallest building in the U.S. when it is completed.
The Downdraft Tower will use the ambient heat of the desert to generate electricity. Water is injected as a mist near the top of the tower. The water evaporates creating a draft of cooler and denser sinking air that increases in speed as it descends through the cylinder. The draft will reach speeds of over 50 miles per hour during its descent to the base of the tower. The air is diverted into two wind tunnels that surround the base of the tower and turbines inside the tunnels power generators to produce electricity.
Solar Wind Energy Tower Inc. says its enormous tower can operate 24 hours a day and has "has the ability to be operated with virtually no carbon footprint, fuel consumption, or waste production." Here is an animation that demonstrates how the tower works: