The Sun Shines on Seville
From oranges to flamenco to its soaring summer temperatures (hottest on record: 122.0°F in 1881), much of what makes the southern Spanish town of Seville famous is its sunny climes. Now, Seville can add another accoutrement to its roster: a solar power plant that is designed to provide the town's 600,000 inhabitants with all the energy they need.
The 40-story tower is framed by a field of 600 large mirrors that face the same direction and generate massive amounts of steam that is then funneled into giant turbines to create power. Thousands more mirrors are currently under construction in a second neighboring field. The best part? No greenhouse gases are emitted in the process—just puffs of water-based steam, no more harmful than the mist generated by an extra-hot shower.
The downside? For starters, the plant is run by the sun. After the sun sets, power generally shuts down within an hour. Plus, the technology doesn't come cheap, with a price tag of up to three times that of more conventional coal or gas. But both of these concerns are projected to be non-issues in the near future, as other countries and sites follow suit.
Check out more on the plant from the BBC, including a narrative tour by journalist David Shukman and an illustration of how the plant works.
The 40-story tower is framed by a field of 600 large mirrors that face the same direction and generate massive amounts of steam that is then funneled into giant turbines to create power. Thousands more mirrors are currently under construction in a second neighboring field. The best part? No greenhouse gases are emitted in the process—just puffs of water-based steam, no more harmful than the mist generated by an extra-hot shower.
The downside? For starters, the plant is run by the sun. After the sun sets, power generally shuts down within an hour. Plus, the technology doesn't come cheap, with a price tag of up to three times that of more conventional coal or gas. But both of these concerns are projected to be non-issues in the near future, as other countries and sites follow suit.
Check out more on the plant from the BBC, including a narrative tour by journalist David Shukman and an illustration of how the plant works.
Posted by: Amara Holstein on May 23, 07 at 02:43 PM PDT
That's the best thing I heard all day, and I actually had a pretty good day .
Posted by deor. on 05/24/07 06:19PM PDT
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