Could this type of solar farm be more harmful then helpful?

Question

In Australia they are building a solar farm that uses mirrors to heat up air. then the air is funneled up a tall tower where there are fans that take in the power from the speed of the moving hot air. Wouldn't this hurt the envirorment because it is sending out supper heated air out into the atmosphere?

In Australia they are building a solar farm that uses mirrors to heat up air. then the air is funneled up a tall tower where there are fans that take in the power from the speed of the moving hot air. Wouldn't this hurt the envirorment because it is sending out supper heated air out into the atmosphere? Trust me i am ver concerned about the envirorment I just think this idea can cause more damage than it fixes

Sorry about the first additional details. I am verry concerned about the environment i just think this can cause more dammage than it fixes.

Answer 1

Possibly. Hopefully the Kangaroos have made sure they help more than they hurt.

Answer 2

Good for you for looking at things with a critical eye. In this case, the solar installation would not harm the environment, but if you look critically at other supposedly environmentally friendly technologies (like running cars on ethanol) they might not actually be good for the environment. But I digress...the answer to your question is that this method of producing clean energy does not harm the environment. A solar installation like this one takes the energy of the sun that falls on a large area, and focuses all of the energy at a single point. This concentrates the heat of the sun's rays at one point, but it does not affect the amount of heat energy entering the earth from the sun. If the solar installation were not there, the same amount of heat would hit the surface of the earth, but over a larger area. Overall the earth heats up the same amount, just in one case (with the solar installation in place) one tiny area is heated to a very high temperature, while in the other case a large area is heated up a tiny amount.

Answer 3

No it won't be harmful at all. 100% of that that sunlight would have eventually heated the earth and air anyway...they're just concentrating the heat in a small about of air from which the extra energy can be easily extracted to run an electric generator.

I do think you are to be commended for making sure they are covering all the bases on this project, unlike some of the dumb things they are letting through to make ethanol, for example.

Answer 4

No - Solar Thermal Concentrating Systems

By using mirrors and lenses to concentrate the rays of the sun, solar thermal systems can produce very high temperatures—as high as 3,000 degrees Celsius. This intense heat can be used in industrial applications or to produce electricity.

Solar concentrators come in three main designs: parabolic troughs, parabolic dishes, and central receivers. The most common is parabolic troughs—long, curved mirrors that concentrate sunlight on a liquid inside a tube that runs parallel to the mirror. The liquid, at about 300 degrees Celsius, runs to a central collector, where it produces steam that drives an electric turbine.

Answer 5

You are talking about the enviromission Solar tower project.

A. Reducing greenhouse emissions is like pulling off a blanket. Even if your global "body temperature" goes up slightly, there is less holding in the heat.

B. Your description of the function of the tower is incorrect. The turbines are in the base of the tower, and mirrors are not used. It is a massive transparent greenhouse.

Answer 6

Thank you for this question as this one is new to our researchers on alternative energy. At first glance we would also be concerned about the artificial increase to the atmosphere but alas we do not know what the true impact is here as this one is brand new to our staff researchers. We will take a deeper look into this now that you have made us aware. Thank you.

Answer 7

Please get your facts straight. It is a photo voltaic solar farm which is supplying a town which is supplied by Deisel generation which produces heat and air polution.

Read below.

In remote western Queensland, the town of Windorah is about to become one of Australia's greenest communities, with the construction of the state's first solar farm.

Five solar dishes, each 14 metres in diameter, will generate enough electricity to power the small community during daylight hours.

It seems this is just the start of Australia's awakening to renewable energy sources, which experts say have been 'going gangbusters' overseas.

Power company Ergon Energy plans to start building the five solar dishes in Windorah in September.

Spokesman David Smyth say the $4 million facility will generate 360,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year and significantly reduce the community's reliance on diesel-generated power.

"There's quite a few technologies around that harness the sun," he said.

"This is a system that concentrates the photons onto a high-efficiency photovoltaic cell.

"I guess the new part of the project here is how we integrate the system into our power station, and that's where Ergon Energy is coming into its own in developing that solution."

Barcoo Shire Mayor Bruce Scott says locals were thoroughly consulted about the plan, including details of the overall look of the farm.

He says no-one raised any concerns, and in fact locals are very pleased and excited about spearheading the project.

"Barcoo Shire is sort of situated in the Queensland channel country and it's one of the greatest natural cattle-fattening areas of the world," he said.

"We've always hung our hat on our clean and green image so this only adds to that image and certainly fits right in with our community and council philosophy of keeping a sustainable and clean and green image."

Councillor Scott says the project will benefit the community and set an example for Australia.

"There'll be possibly about a 100,000 litres a year reduction in the need for diesel to fuel generators," he said.

"It'll also reduce carbon emission by approximately 350 tonnes, so in a global sense that possibly doesn't seem like a lot but if a little community of 100 people can reduce our carbon emissions by 350 tonnes just imagine if projects like this - solar and geothermal and other renewable and sustainable energy sources - were used, what reduction it could have nationally."

Councillor Scott is predicting substantial economic spin-offs. Apart from the usual boost to the local economy with the influx of workers during construction, he believes there will be a flood of tourists because of the growing interest in more sustainable energy sources.

"It's going to look quite spectacular with five 15-metre dishes reflecting sunlight into a single central photovoltaic panel will look quite spectacular so I think its going to be a bit of a car-stopper."

Queensland Energy Minister Geoff Wilson says once all the technological problems are ironed out at Windorah, the State Government expects to expand the program to other regional communities.


Benefits of renewables

Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy executive director Ric Brazzale says it seems all levels of government across the country are finally waking up to the real benefits of renewable energy sources.

"At the moment about 9 per cent of Australia's electricity comes from renewables, and a lot of that is from hydro projects that have been around for a quite a while," he said.

"We've seen recently a significant increase in the amount of wind power and bioenergy projects, but we really have got a long way to go."

Mr Brazzale says that as far as natural resources go, there is nothing holding Australia back from rapidly expanding the use of cleaner greener sources.

"In Australia we've got a fabulous renewable energy resource base - we're the sunniest continent in the world, we've got a fabulous wind regime, not to mention our extensive coastline gives us one of the world's best regimes for wave power," he said.

But he says we are lagging well behind other developed countries like Germany and parts of the United States, where governments have taken strong leadership on the issue and developed programs to encourage the use of solar and wind power.

"Unfortunately we also have really cheap coal, and until such time that we have an effective regime that values or costs the pollution created by coal-fired power stations, technologies like renewables will struggle to compete," he said.

"What we're advocating is that really we need to have a national renewable energy scheme."

Answer 8

It's not creating heat or energy it just essentially concentrates it so that we get useful work out of it. If anything because we get work (energy) out of it that leaves less energy to heat the environment.

Answer 9

heat dissipates very rapidly. I'm sure there would be no rise in the ambient air temperature after 20 meters if even that far

Answer 10

Don't tell Al Gore