Novel concept for producing energy integrating a solar collector with a man made mountain hollow

The concept of the solar chimney thermal power technology was proven with the successful operation of the Manzanares prototype built in the 1980s. However, all previous attempts at producing energy from a commercial solar chimney thermal power plant on a large scale have failed because of bad engine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy conversion and management 2009-03, Vol.50 (3), p.847-854
Main Authors: Zhou, Xinping, Yang, Jiakuan, Wang, Jinbo, Xiao, Bo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Chimney
Economic data
Electric energy
Energy
Energy economics
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Exact sciences and technology
General, economic and professional studies
Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy
Mountain hollow
Natural energy
Other installations: mhd power plants, fuel cell plants, incineration plants, etc
Solar collector
Turbine generators
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Summary:The concept of the solar chimney thermal power technology was proven with the successful operation of the Manzanares prototype built in the 1980s. However, all previous attempts at producing energy from a commercial solar chimney thermal power plant on a large scale have failed because of bad engineering and safety. A novel concept for producing energy by integrating a solar collector with a mountain hollow is presented and described. Solar energy is collected in the collector and heats the ground, which is used to store heat energy and heat the indoor air. Then, the hot air is forced by the pressure difference between it and the ambient air to move along the tilted segment and up the vertical segment of the ‘chimney’, driving the turbine generators to generate electricity. The mountain hollow, formed by excavation in a large-elevation mountain, can avoid the safety issues of erecting a gigantic concrete chimney, which is needed for commercial solar chimney thermal power plants. Furthermore, it can also save a great amount of construction materials for constructing a robust chimney structure and reduce the energy cost to a level less than that of a clean coal power plant, providing a good solution to the reclamation and utilization of undeveloped mountains, especially in mountainous countries.
ISSN:0196-8904
1879-2227
DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2008.09.006