Massive Solar Tower Planned For Arizona

inkscapee writes "It's simple, clean, low-maintenance, and cost-effective: using hot air on a large scale to generate electricity. No, this not a plan to use Congress to generate power, though that would certainly be an endless supply — EnviroMission will use air rising up a tall tower to generate 200 megawatts of electricity. The concept is simple: a giant greenhouse at the base of the tower warms the air. The warmed air rises through the tower and turns turbines, which generate electricity. The taller the tower, the faster the air moves, which increases power output. This structure will be a monster at over 2600 feet tall. It works in all weather, and if there is a feasible water source, food could be grown in the greenhouse."

Comments

Serious Question...

[twistedsymphony]

Is there a form of viable power production that doesn't require a mechanical generator of some sort?

I get it... turbine generators have really good efficiency and we've refined their use for over a century. But it seems to me that every worth-while method of power production uses them...

• Wind - air turns a blade which turns a generator to create electricity
• Hydo - water turn a turbine which turns a generator to create electricity
• Petrol - fuel runs through a combustion engine which turns a generator to create electricity
• Coal - coal burns and heats up water to create steam which turns a turbine which turns a generator to create electricity
• Nuclear - a nuclear reaction heats up water to create steam which turns a turbine which turns a generator to create electricity
• Geo-Thermal - the earth's core heats up water to create steam which turns a turbine which turns a generator to create electricity
• Solar Tower- a greenhouse is used to heat up air which turns a turbine which turns a generator to create electricity

Solar Cells, and Lightning Rods seem to be the only methods I can think of that produce electricity without the use a turbine/generator combo but neither are viable for wide spread use. It seems to me that we'd do well to invest in methods of converting heat directly into electricity (giant Peltiers?) without the use of a turbine/generator. I would think doing so would theoretically make a number of our existing methods that much more efficient and perhaps open the door for other methods of power production.