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Massive Solar Updraft Towers Planned For Arizona

MikeChino writes "Australia-based EnviroMission Ltd recently announced plans to build two solar updraft towers that span hundreds of acres in La Paz County, Arizona. Solar updraft technology sounds promising enough: generate hot air with a giant greenhouse, channel the air into a chimney-like device, and let the warm wind turn a wind turbine to produce energy. The scale of the devices would be staggering — each plant would consist of a 2,400 foot chimney over a greenhouse measuring four square miles. The Southern California Public Power Authority has approved EnviroMission as a provider, although there’s still plenty of work to be done before the $750 million, 200 megawatt project can begin."

21 of 572 comments (clear)

  1. A better location by n0tWorthy · · Score: 4, Funny

    They should build it in Washington DC

    --
    "Be kind, for everyone you meet is facing a great battle." - Philo of Alexandria -
  2. Re:Plenty of consulting dollars to be spent by yobjob · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've been watching Enviromission not build a solar tower in regional Victoria (Australia) for a decade now. Not building one in the United States is a real step up for these guys.

  3. Re:Plenty of consulting dollars to be spent by s0litaire · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hm.. My first thought was "Perfect for one big ass Pot farm..." ^__^

    --
    Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
  4. Re:Do a small scale pilot first by Red+Flayer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Given that the Greens are already opposing solar plants in desert locations

    I call bullshit. If environmental activists are protesting in a desert location, are they not Browns?

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  5. Re:Efficiency by Rei · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is there some efficiency to be gained by building a four square mile device over, say, 2560 one acre devices? Energy efficiency? Cost?

    Yes. Yes.

    --
    Present day. Present time.
  6. the american way... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, no, no, you have it all wrong!

    Amerika will pay Australia to buy from an American corporation. The American corporation will in turn import all the raw materials from china and help the Australian firm find a bunch of minimum wage mexicans to build the thing.

    The only question is... which south american country will supply the hookers and blow for this project?

  7. Find volcano, run $500,000 pipe of water near it by assemblerex · · Score: 3, Funny

    profit! Half mile high tower? Pffft

  8. Re:Do a small scale pilot first by jittles · · Score: 4, Funny

    A 4 square mile greenhouse in the middle of the dessert?

    I, for one, will not stand up to these people interrupting dessert!

  9. Can we still make fun of him in 2010? by LostCluster · · Score: 5, Funny

    George W. Bush is already scheming how to dodge the updraft.

  10. physics by bcmm · · Score: 3, Funny

    energy

    You keep using that word...

    --
    # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
    Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  11. Thanks, Wiseguy by spun · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do you suffer from MUS (Multiple Urine Streams)? Are your trips to the bathroom blighted by UPTs (Unpredictable Piss Trajectories)? Well, fear not, you are not alone. Research has shown that in 99% of cases, MUS and UPTs are caused by two factors; either debris trapped in your glans, or a poorly configured foreskin. Well, your toilet seat soaking days could now be over, as a revolutionary GIMP plugin written by prolific rock-ballad artist Meatloaf will solve *all* your bathroom carpet dampening needs.

    Simply use your favourite digital camera/camera phone to take a photograph of your penis before you are about to urinate, transfer it to your Linux-based laptop, and Meatloaf's incredible software processes the image using advanced techniques like Neural Nets, Stochastic Sampling and Genetic Algorithms to analyse the configuration of your bell-end, and give advice helping you to avoid both MUS and UPTs. The software is also written in 100% x86 assembly language, taking advantage of Meatloaf's decades of experience working with Intel's modern processors, to deliver accurate results in seconds.

    Order it now, and banish piss soaked carpets from your life forever.

    I tried this and now my penis looks really blurry and pixelated.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  12. Re:Hot air injection at 2400 feet? by Lije+Baley · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm guessing it will kill every rabbit and turtle up there.

    --
    Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
  13. Green Energy? by Tehrasha · · Score: 3, Funny
    A giant greenhouse, designed to heat massive ammounts of air, and dump it into the cold upper atmosphere...

    So we have given up and are going to proactively warm the earth's atmosphere directly now?

    1. Re:Green Energy? by CyDharttha · · Score: 5, Funny

      Good luck solving any problems without causing new ones. Unfortunately for the human race, perfect foresight is fictional.

      After reading the earlier comment regarding urination problems (I should have passed it by), I unfortunately read 'foresight' as 'foreskin'. Sigh.

  14. Re:I can't help but wonder... by dkf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seems like an interesting idea, replacing the tall tower with an air vortex. But I think the risks have to be researched beforehand. What you create here is a giantic tornado, so how is it guaranteed that this tornado won't suddenly rip off the base and start wandering around?!

    Pack trailer parks around the base. That'll keep that tornado fixed firmly in place.

    --
    "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
  15. Re:Other turbine proposals... by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 3, Funny

    you spelled HOLE wrong...

    Per hops asia result of depending on spill chick.

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    Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
  16. Re:The desert isn't a wasteland by canajin56 · · Score: 3, Funny

    If it decimates 2000 acres of desert, you still have 1800 acres left.

    --
    ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
  17. Re:Wet toilet seats a problem? by The+Snowman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Anyone with carpet in their bathroom deserves whatever debris gets trapped in their penis.

    I hate to nitpick grammar, but I am pretty sure that "penis" is always masculine singular, i.e. "his penis."

    --
    24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Coincidence? I think not!
  18. Re:Wet toilet seats a problem? by deniable · · Score: 3, Funny

    Lorena Bobbit had a penis. but threw it away.

  19. Re:I can't help but wonder... by Rei · · Score: 3, Funny

    Someone failed physics, but applied for a patent anyway.

    Apparently tornadoes and hurricanes have failed physics, too.

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    Present day. Present time.
  20. Re:Plenty of consulting dollars to be spent by imakemusic · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ass Pot: It's the good shit.

    --
    Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!