Improvement of power generation of the wind solar tower

In 1989, a pilot plant of a solar chimney was erected in Manzanares Spain to evaluate the feasibility of the solar tower as a new source of renewable energies. Since then, the solar tower was discussed in the press, but no commercial plant succeeded the research. A reason for this could be the relative low power output compared with other renewable energy production systems. However, the power generation system of a wind solar tower can be designed and constructed at relatively low cost. A solar tower consists mainly of three components. The collector area is a glass roof, above ground with increasing height towards the center. Attached to the center of the collector is a vertical tower inside which a wind turbine is mounted at the lower entry into the tower. When solar radiation heats the ground through the glass roof, the uprising warm air is guided to the center into the tunnel. A wind solar tower that can generate electricity in a simple structure, and enables easy and less costly maintenance, has considerable advantages. Since the solar tower reaches several hundreds of meters into the sky, the tower exit is at a level of higher wind speeds compared to the ground. If wind passes over the tower exit, it can induce air flow inside the tower. Hence, the solar tower could be capable of producing electricity at night when the solar radiation is not available. In our research we are aiming to improve the overall performance of the solar tower focusing on the tower component. We consider airflow caused by thermal updraft and air flow in the tower induced by wind flowing over the tower exit at the top. We conclude that the shape of the tower has a significant effect on the performance of the solar tower. Therefore, our future research will focus on further optimization of the shape of the tower.