Reaching up into the heavens like a biblical pillar of light, the Abengoa Solar Tower which lies just outside of Seville in southern Spain harnesses the power of the sun to generate enough electricity to power around 6,000 homes.
The tower lies in the center of a massive array of mirrors which rotate to track the path of the sun as it moves through the sky. The mirrors focus the sun’s rays, reflecting them back onto the central column which causes a massive rise in temperature at the top of the tower. Water is then pumped through the tower where it turns to steam and is then passed through highly efficient turbines to generate electricity.
As a new alternative energy source the solar tower concept sure does look good in theory, however, the system has yet to be perfected and as with most new technologies the cost is very high. Also this type of energy collection is only economically viable in the sunnier climes where the abundance of sunlight will offset the initial construction costs over a period of years.
The costs are of course expected to fall as the technology develops in a similar way that has happened with wind-generators and the project team is looking forward to a bright vision of the future. A massive series of reflector farms and solar towers stretching across the Sahara desert providing clean, renewable power to all of northern Europe.
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