Generating Electricity

Well it is a web page, no photo on front page.

45 min wait for clip that never showed up.

Is that the best they can do?

Project that large and web page without good image or rendering?

I didn't have any problems. Looks like an interesting concept.

looks like an idea who's time has come!

THE SCALE IS TREMENDOUS. A GREAT USE OF AN OLD CONCEPT. GLAD TO SEE TECHNOLOGY HAS PROGRESSED TO THIS POINT. IT SHOULD WORK WELL. THIS HAS BEEN USED FOR CENTURIES FOR MECHANICALLY POWERING BUILDING VENTILATION AND COOLING SYSTEMS, THERMAL SAILS FOR BOATS, AND POWER GENERATION FOR MODELS.

I find this concept very innovative in the field of generation of electrical energy. I wonder, when we will see it work?

I was skeptical at first, but after some brief Internet research I see that there is a body of work on the subject. My first thoughts:

1) $75-100 Million is a bit pricey, but I guess that $1 Billion for a 60 megawatt reactor is exponentially more expensive.

2) I would think that air flow would drop significantly when the sun goes down - I understand that the earth would be heated, but I think that would cool quickly, likely long before the next sunrise. I would think some water could be used to store heat, in trombe-wall fashion - it would probably add a lot to the initial costs but may add utility in the long run.

3) A large area under glass/plastic could likely be used for other purposes - some kind of agriculture/aquaculture, maybe fish in warm water?

4) I like the tourism angle - I would go take a tour!

5) I question why the tower is reinforced concrete, but I guess it makes good long-term sense, especially for tallest structure on the planet!

I understand that they are using some brine pools to store heat during the daytime and keep the generator going at night.

Many mega-projects like this are scaled up versions of smaller projects. In fact, many huge projects are first tested out on a smaller scale. Sometimes spinnoffs of the technology included scaled down versions for smaller more compact installations. That being said I have two questions:

1. Has this been successfully done on a smaller scale somewhere else and what was the result in terms of cost, land area, tower height, and power generation capacity?

2. Would this be practical on a MUCH smaller scale, say for an individual homeowner who had sufficient acreage, and what would be the result in terms of cost, land area, tower height, and power generation capacity?

OK, three questions.

3. Given that we have an answer to the first two questions, are these results linear in scale in terms of cost, land area, tower height, and power generation capacity, or do the curves favor one scale over another (mini-, midi-, or maxi-scale)?

If small scale projects are practical, what a boon this would be to many underdeveloped equatorial countries! Imagine, bringing electric power on a small scale to remote villages in Africa.

Finally, yes, another question:

4. Would this technology work on a smaller scale over relatively calm shallow ocean waters, say those surrounding tropical islands, where the tower could be built on piers on the ocean floor with floating turbines anchored in place?