A picture made with artificial intelligence
Muscat/Doha: Scientists have developed a method that can be used to obtain a double amount of energy from a solar power station.
A research published in the Journal of Energy Reports has presented the concept of a system called the Solar Tower power plant, which is based on a chimney-like tower with a wind turbine installed at its base.
The system is made up of two parts, one being a solar updraft system and the other a cooling down draft structure.
As the air inside the tower gets heated after absorbing solar radiation, an updraft is created, meaning the air goes upwards and activates the turbine, resulting in the generation of electricity.
However, the original model built in the 1980s by Spanish engineers was not adopted because it was very expensive due to its size.
The traditional power plants also have limited energy production because they depend on solar radiation and are only active during the day.
Scientists from Oman and Jordan have integrated better updraft technology with down draft technology to achieve better results.
(Credit: Al-Hussein Technical University, Jordan / Qatar University, Qatar)
In the down draft system, a pump takes water to the upper part of a pump tower, where warm air is collected and cools the air.
The cooler air comes down through a cylinder connected to the tower through the foundation to actuate the turbine, resulting in the generation of electricity.
According to researchers, this new two-tune technology which combines both the updraft and downdraft systems can generate energy from the heat of the day as well as the warm air at night.
It has been determined from the system’s model that the system can produce 752,763 kilowatts of electricity annually, providing electricity to approximately 753 households for almost five weeks.