Hot air
In future it will be possible to use wind energy even where there has not to date been sufficient air movement — thanks to the sun. The model shown in the picture was designed by Professor Jorg Schaich of Stuttgart. By means of a gigantic circular collector, it heats up the air which then enters a chimney and powers turbines. The first plant based on this design is now being built in Spain, commissioned by the Bonn Ministry of Research. It will cost $2.9 million.
The collector will be 200 metres in diameter and the chimney 200 metres high. From 1981 onwards, it will provide IOOkW of power, enough to meet the electricity requirements of about 100 households. If the wind power station is a success, then a 10 megawatt prototype is to be built in Saudi Arabia. To produce that much electricity, the tower will have to be 400 metres high and the collector 1.8 kilometres in diameter.
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Press, 23 February 1980, Page 15
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160Hot air Press, 23 February 1980, Page 15
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