THE WIND FROM THE SUN POWER PLANT

THE WIND FROM THE SUN POWER PLANT

Abstract

Wind from the Sun is a new method for producing electric power from a Solar / wind hybrid system. Energy from sunlight is converted to heat by a large solar collector. The solar collector heats the air above it and the heated air rises. Cooler air moves in to replace the rising hot air and a cycle begins. The solar collector continually heats the air, which rises and is replaced by cooler air. The heated rising air decreases the air pressure above the collector. The rising hot air over the collector has a lower air pressure than the cooler air over the land away from the collector. A large diameter pipe (or “air channel”) connects the lower air pressure, near the center of the collector, to the higher air pressure, a short distance away from the collector. Air moves from high to low air pressure through the air channel. Inside the air channel, pressure-staged wind turbines

convert the wind’s mechanical energy into electricity.

Introduction

In nature, it is solar power that creates wind power. Consider the example of the sea breeze. The sun heats both land and sea, but the land heats up more quickly and reaches a higher temperature than the sea. The air over the land becomes hotter than the air over the sea and the hot air rises, creating an area of lower air pressure (close to the surface). Air moves from the area of higher pressure over the sea to the area of lower pressure over the land. The cool sea air heats up as it moves over the land and so it rises, creating a cycle. The result of this cycle is a steady wind moving from the sea to the land. In this example from nature, the land is acting like a solar collector, changing sunlight into heat. The heated land heats the air and creates a wind. This wind energy can be harvested by wind turbines. A Wind from the Sun power plant would imitate this same type of system that occurs in nature, but with a greater degree of control and predictability. This will result in a more reliable wind with a higher average wind speed.

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