The Solar Power of New South Wales Report

Introduction

Australia is the world’s largest per capita greenhouse gas producer after the world after the United States (Woody, 2006). This is brought about by her reliance on coal as the main source of energy. The prospect of depletion of coal, which is a non-renewable source of energy required strategies that could sustain energy demands, and this called for designing of alternative sources of energy that conform to standards of pollution control spelled out by the Kyoto protocol on global warming management (Woody, 2006). Australia is endowed with abundant sunlight and tapping the sunlight into an economic source of energy could save Australia from economic breakdown following coal deposit depletion which could ground operations of the industrial sector (Lague, 2002). Renewable energy for adoption should have the potential to produce electricity all day round (Lague, 2002; Woody, 2006). This limited prospect of using wind-powered generators or solar panels. This paved way for the adoption and implementation of solar tower technology which is able to meet 24-hour energy demand.

The goal statement

The solar tower is envisioned to provide an uninterrupted power supply for 24 hours and help to align Australia to conform to the Kyoto Protocol on Environmental pollution control (Mostlyhotair, 2005). The solar Tower was believed to provide renewable energy that could substitute reliance on coal that has a likelihood of being depleted after many years of continuous mining (Woody, 2006). The Solar Tower would help to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming (Gingichashvili, 2008).

The design of the Solar Tower

The renewable energy plant design combines a solar tower with a greenhouse (Laque, 2002; Anissimov, 2009). The greenhouse is designed to help to provide a stream of hot air that could rotate the turbines in order to generate electricity by induction (Anissimov, 2009). The principle of the solar tower is based on the knowledge that hot air rises. The air under the greenhouse will be 35°C greater than the ambient temperature. The 1000 feet solar tower will result in a rise of wind that is estimated to attain a velocity of 60 kilometers that has enough momentum to run the turbines (Anissimov, 2009). The design of the turbines is such that one block could be shut down for maintenance tasks without affecting the performance of the others which ensures there is no possibility of power blackout during maintenance times (Woody, 2006).

The expected output of the solar tower

The solar tower is designed to generate at least 200 megawatts of electricity that is estimated to serve a population of 200,000 households (Laque, 2002). The peak output of the solar tower will be observed during the day but at night electricity production will be maintained by heat collectors that will help to sustain the heat gradient required to produce a stream of hot air (Woody, 2006; Anissimov, 2009).

Estimated Budget for the Solar Tower Project

The Solar Tower project is estimated to cost USD 440,000 million (Laque, 2002).

Economic feasibility of the project

It is estimated that the capital costs of setting up the Solar Tower will be offset in nine years. The calculated operating life of the Solar Tower is estimated at 60 years. This means the project viability and prospect of returns are high (Laque, 2002; Woody, 2006)

Challenges that Solar Tower had to face

The industry was not prepared to rely on solar Tower technology to sustain its energy demands (Woody, 2006). Adoption of Solar Tower would translate into a loss of revenue for their generators, gas companies, and Coal companies. The project was perceived to contribute to an increase in unemployment rates. Adoption and reliance on solar tower energy required industries to make changes in their production process which required input of more technical resources to align the industries to run on electricity as opposed to coal. The solar tower energy could have affected the cost of machines that are run by coal (Fogarty, 2008).

Policy towards adoption of solar tower technology

The necessity to increased reliance and future growth of solar tower technology was catalyzed by financial penalties that were imposed on industries that continued to emit greenhouse gases as compensations for environmental pollution (Gingichashvili, 2008). Australia required meeting and conforming to standards of The Kyoto Protocol on global warming management (Laque, 2002). There were concerns that the emission of greenhouse gases was a threat to public health and safety and occupational health and safety programs called for the need to reduce respiratory diseases and other diseases predisposed by pollution that had led to high medical bills. Companies that aimed to pursue renewable energy sources earned credits for their research and efforts through renewable energy certificates. The demand for companies to be eco-friendly will help to push manufacturing companies to reposition their production efficiencies in order to get certification (Woody, 2006).

The implication of the solar tower project

The solar tower will satisfy the demand for renewable energy and help to reduce global warming by helping to reduce greenhouse gases released from industries running on coal. The project could be expanded to other countries that depend on non-renewable energy sources to help in global warming management (Jeraone, 2009). The solar tower project could become the primary energy source globally and help to reduce pollution (Jeraone, 2009).

References

1. Anissimov, M. (2009). What is a Solar Tower? Web.
2. Fogarty, D. (2008). Australian miners turn to solar tower power.
3. Gingichashvili, S. (2008) The rise of the solar Tower.
4. JeraOne (2009). Australian Solar Tower developer opens U.S. subsidiary.
5. Mostlyhotair (2005) Solar power: thermal energy generation.
6. Woody, T. (2006). How Autralia got hot for solar power. Web.