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I worked on trying to get this solar updraft tower built in Australia many years ago, and it still breaks my heart we weren't able to make it happen. https://w

I worked on trying to get this solar updraft tower built in Australia many years ago, and it still breaks my heart we weren't able to make it happen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tWlP0knKQU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tWlP0knKQU

jahnu 8y ago
That was a really interesting project. What were the main reasons it failed? The one in Spain seemed to show it was feasible.
- ekianjo 8y ago
  A 1000m tower is expensive and long to build. We have never built something as high so far (tallest building so far is 828m).
  - jacobush 8y ago
    Crazy thought - could a mountain be converted? Build two tunnels, one vertical, one horizontal. Probably crazily expensive, but known engineering...
    - ekianjo 8y ago
      Not sure if we have experience building such vertical tunnels in mountains though? This would have to be much, much larger than your regular mine.
    - Simulacra 8y ago
      I like the way you think!!!
- Simulacra 8y ago
  Cost. That was it. The project in Spain was significantly cheaper to build and was only a 50kw tower. The EnviroMission tower was going to be 200 MW facility. The benefits of the solar updraft tower are huge: Able to be built using readily available materials (concrete, glass, etc.) If a terrorist blows it up, just build another one. Tremendous tourism potential. The skirt/greenhouse could grow crops making the air denser and more efficient, and with a LOT of open land Australia would've been the perfect choice. Unfortunately it just came down to building cost.