4 ms·

Personally, I think this is the most ridiculous concept. I have not seen the math but in order to achieve any meaningful scale it needs to be huge, but on the f

by yumraj 14y ago

Personally, I think this is the most ridiculous concept. I have not seen the math but in order to achieve any meaningful scale it needs to be huge, but on the flip side the farther you get from the center the efficiency reduces drastically. Moreover, this is a dusty desert, what are their plans for cleaning those mirrors, at such a huge scale. The only guy who will make money in this is the one with that contract. The inventor had tried this earlier, I believe in Israel, but that had failed. Oh well, with federal loan guarantees that it has, we have another Solyndra on our hands.

redwood 14y ago
You an see an early version of one of these in Barstow, if that's what you're thinking of. There is a functional one in Spain as well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_solar_power_tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_solar_power_tower) Anyway you may be right that the tower concept isn't going to last long, but the troughs have been shown to last decades (see Victorville, California) and obviously they have the same issue of dust... so there must be a known solution for that engineering challenge.
- thangalin 14y ago
  Possibly hydro- and oleophobic mirrors plus elbow grease.
leoedin 14y ago
> I have not seen the math but in order to achieve any meaningful scale it needs to be huge How can you make a statement like that? If you're not aware of the mathematical basis for the plant then you can't quantify "huge". You're either regurgitating something you read elsewhere without any real understanding, or you're simply making untrue statements. If this is a ridiculous concept, what do you propose instead? Further oil exploration? More coal? This project is making a meaningful step towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. If you want to criticise, fine, but please at least take the time to properly understand the costs involved and the alternative options.

by yumraj 14y ago

redwood 14y ago

You an see an early version of one of these in Barstow, if that's what you're thinking of. There is a functional one in Spain as well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_solar_power_tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_solar_power_tower) Anyway you may be right that the tower concept isn't going to last long, but the troughs have been shown to last decades (see Victorville, California) and obviously they have the same issue of dust... so there must be a known solution for that engineering challenge.

thangalin 14y ago
Possibly hydro- and oleophobic mirrors plus elbow grease.

leoedin 14y ago

> I have not seen the math but in order to achieve any meaningful scale it needs to be huge How can you make a statement like that? If you're not aware of the mathematical basis for the plant then you can't quantify "huge". You're either regurgitating something you read elsewhere without any real understanding, or you're simply making untrue statements. If this is a ridiculous concept, what do you propose instead? Further oil exploration? More coal? This project is making a meaningful step towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. If you want to criticise, fine, but please at least take the time to properly understand the costs involved and the alternative options.