Editing Solar updraft tower (section)

== History and progress ==
[[File:Smoke-jack.jpg|left|thumb|Smoke-jack from ''A Treatise of Mechanics'' (1826)]]
A chimney turbine was envisioned as a [[Roasting jack#Smoke jack|smoke jack]], and illustrated 500 years ago by [[Leonardo da Vinci]].  An animal spitted above a fire or in an oven could be turned by a vertical axis turbine with four angled vanes in the chimney updraft.

Alfred Rosling Bennett published the first patent describing a "Convection Mill" in 1896.<ref>{{Cite patent|country=GB|number=189608711|pubdate=1897-04-24|title=An improved differential temperature air motor, adapted for scientific applications, for philosophical toys, and for advertising and other purposes|inventor1-last=Bennett|inventor1-first=Alfred Rosling}}</ref> Even if in the title of the patent and in the claims the word "Toy" clearly appears and even if in the overall description made inside the patent it is evident that the idea was to produce small devices, in page 3 at lines 49–54 Bennett envisions much larger devices for bigger scale applications. A model of this "convection mill", built in 1919 by Albert H. Holmes & Son (London) to demonstrate the phenomenon of convection currents, is on display in the [[Science Museum, London]].

In 1903, Isidoro Cabanyes, a colonel in the Spanish army, proposed a solar chimney power plant in the magazine ''La energía eléctrica''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lorenzo |first1=E. |language=es |url=http://www.fotovoltaica.com/chimenea.pdf |title=Las chimeneas solares:De una propuesta española en 1903 a la Central de Manzanares |publisher=De Los Archivos Históricos De La Energía Solar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206105819/http://www.fotovoltaica.com/chimenea.pdf |archive-date=2020-02-06 }}</ref> Another early description was published in 1931 by German author [[Walter de Haas|Hanns Günther]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Günther |first=Hanns | author-link=Walter de Haas | date=1931| title=In hundert Jahren — Die künftige Energieversorgung der Welt| location=Stuttgart| publisher=Kosmos, Gesellschaft der Naturfreunde}}</ref> Beginning in 1975, Robert E. Lucier applied for [[patent]]s on a solar chimney electric power generator; between 1978 and 1981 patents (since expired) were granted in Australia,<ref>{{Cite patent|country=AU|number=499934|pubdate=1977-08-18|title=Apparatus for converting solar to electrical energy|inventor1-last=Lucier|inventor1-first=R.}}</ref> Canada,<ref>{{Cite patent|country=CA|number=1023564|pubdate=1978-01-03|title=Utilization of solar energy|inventor1-last=Lucier|inventor1-first=Robert E.}}</ref> Israel,<ref>{{Cite patent|country=IL|number=50721|pubdate=1979-12-30|title=System and apparatus for converting solar heat to electrical energy|inventor1-last=Lucier|inventor1-first=R.}}</ref> and the US.<ref>{{Cite patent|number=4275309|country=US|pubdate=1981-06-23|title=System for converting solar heat to electrical energy|inventor1-last=Lucier|inventor1-first=Robert E.}}</ref>

In 1926 Prof Engineer Bernard Dubos proposed to the French Academy of Sciences the construction of a Solar Aero-Electric Power Plant in North Africa with its solar chimney on the slope of a large mountain.<ref name="moreno7026723">{{Cite patent|country=US|number=7026723|pubdate=2006-04-11|title=Air filtering chimney to clean pollution from a city and generate electric power|assign1=Handels und Finanz AG|inventor1-last=Moreno|inventor1-first=Mauricio Rodolfo}}</ref> {{Citation needed span|text=A mountainside updraft tower can also function as a vertical greenhouse.|date=August 2012}}

In 1956, [[Edgard Nazare]], after observing several dust devils in the southern Sahara, filed his first patent in Algiers on the artificial cyclone generator. This patent was re-filed later in Paris <ref>{{Cite patent|country=FR|number=1439849|pubdate=1966-05-27|title=Générateur de cyclones artificiels|inventor1-last=Nazare|inventor1-first=Edgard}}</ref>

[[File:Solar Chimney Manzanares view through the polyester collector roof.jpg|thumb|upright|Manzanares Solar Chimney viewed through the polyester collector roof]]

In 1982, a small-scale experimental model of a solar draft tower<ref>{{cite news |title=Solar Updraft Tower Pilot Plant Manzanares |url=https://www.sbp.de/en/project/solar-chimney-pilot-plant-manzanares/ |work=Schlaich Bergermann Partner }}</ref> was built in [[Manzanares, Ciudad Real]], 150&nbsp;km south of [[Madrid]], Spain at {{coord|39|02|34.45|N|3|15|12.21|W|type:landmark|name=Manzanares Solar Updraft Tower}}. The power plant operated for approximately eight years. The tower's [[guy-wire]]s were not protected against corrosion and failed due to rust and storm winds. The tower blew over and was decommissioned in 1989.<ref name="Mills">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0038-092X(03)00102-6 |id={{INIST|15396794}} |title=Advances in solar thermal electricity technology |journal=Solar Energy |volume=76 |issue=1–3 |pages=19–31 |year=2004 |last1=Mills |first1=D. |bibcode=2004SoEn...76...19M }}</ref>

[[File:AWK von La Solana aus.JPG|thumb|left|SUT as seen from La Solana]]

Inexpensive materials were used in order to evaluate their performance. The solar tower was built of iron plating only {{convert|1.25|mm|in}} thick under the direction of a German engineer, [[Jörg Schlaich]]. The project was funded by the German government.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/01425918308909911 |title=Solar Chimneys Part I: Principle and Construction of the Pilot Plant in Manzanares |journal=International Journal of Solar Energy |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=3–20 |year=2007 |last1=Haaf |first1=W. |last2=Friedrich |first2=K. |last3=Mayr |first3=G. |last4=Schlaich |first4=J. |bibcode=1983IJSE....2....3H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/01425918408909921 |title=Solar Chimneys Part II: Preliminary Test Results from the Manzanares Pilot Plant |journal=International Journal of Solar Energy |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=141–61 |year=2007 |last1=Haaf |first1=W. |bibcode=1984IJSE....2..141H }}</ref>

The chimney had a height of {{convert|195|m|ft}} and a diameter of {{convert|10|m|ft}} with a collection area (greenhouse) of {{convert|4.6|ha}} and a diameter of {{convert|244|m|ft}}, obtaining a maximum power output of about 50&nbsp;[[kW]]. Various materials were used for testing, such as single or double glazing or plastic (which turned out not to be durable enough). One section was used as an actual greenhouse. During its operation, 180 sensors measured inside and outside temperature, collecting humidity and wind speed data on a second-by-second basis.<ref>Schlaich J, Schiel W (2001), "Solar Chimneys", in RA Meyers (ed), ''Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd Edition'', Academic Press, London. {{ISBN|0-12-227410-5}} {{cite web |url= http://www.solarmillennium.de/pdf/SolarCh.pdf |title= download |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070615183950/http://www.solarmillennium.de/pdf/SolarCh.pdf |archive-date= 2007-06-15 }}&nbsp;{{small|(180&nbsp;KB)}}</ref> This experimental setup did not sell energy.

In December 2010, a tower in [[Jinshawan]] in [[Inner Mongolia]], [[China]] started operation, producing 200 [[kilowatts]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.cn/english/2010-12/28/content_1773883.htm |title=China's first solar chimney plant starts operating in desert |publisher=Gov.cn |date=2010-12-28 |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-date=2012-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106202639/http://www.gov.cn/english/2010-12/28/content_1773883.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=www.margotweb.net |url=http://www.solar-chimney.biz/new.php?PHPSESSID=160852743538f135a1ef6e9c58c983a4 |title=NEW about solar chimney power plants |publisher=Solar-chimney.biz |date=2010-09-30 |access-date=2011-09-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910185933/http://www.solar-chimney.biz/new.php?PHPSESSID=160852743538f135a1ef6e9c58c983a4 |archive-date=2012-09-10 }}</ref> The 1.38 billion [[RMB]] ([[USD]] 208 million) project was started in May 2009. It was intended to cover {{convert|277|ha|acre}} and produce 27.5 MW by 2013, but had to be scaled back. The solar chimney plant was expected to improve the climate by covering loose sand, restraining sandstorms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-12/27/c_13666710.htm |title=Xianha: China's first solar chimney plant starts operating in desert |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com |date=2010-12-27 |access-date=2011-09-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730051352/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-12/27/c_13666710.htm |archive-date=2012-07-30 }}</ref> Critics have said that the 50m tall tower is too short to work properly and that it was a mistake to use glass in metal frames for the collector, as many of them cracked and shattered in the heat.<ref name="news.nationalgeographic.com"/>

[[File:SolarChimneyManzanares view from 8km south direction.JPG|thumb|upright=2.0|SUT powerplant prototype in Manzanares, Spain, seen from a point 8 km to the South]]

A proposal to construct a [[EnviroMission|solar updraft tower]] in [[Fuente el Fresno]], [[Ciudad Real]], Spain, entitled ''Ciudad Real Torre Solar'' would be the first of its kind in the [[European Union]]<ref>{{cite news |first=J.V. |last=Muñoz-Lacuna |title=Ciudad Real tendrá una torre solar que doblará en alturaa las Torres Gemelas |url=http://www.lasprovincias.es/valencia/pg060213/prensa/noticias/Espana/200602/13/VAL-ESP-051.html |work=lasprovincias.es |date=13 February 2006 |access-date=26 March 2007|language=es}}</ref> and would stand {{convert|750|m|ft}} tall,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=46210 |title=Ciudad Real Torre Solar, Ciudad Real - SkyscraperPage.com |access-date=27 July 2014 |date=2007 |work=SkyscraperPage.com}}</ref> covering an area of {{convert|350|ha|acres}}.<ref>{{cite news|first=Julio |last=Plaza |title=La Torre Solar |url=http://www.hispalibertas.com/noticias/2006/02/28/la-torre-solar.html |work=HispaLibertas |date=28 February 2006 |access-date=26 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427090637/http://www.hispalibertas.com/noticias/2006/02/28/la-torre-solar.html |archive-date=27 April 2007 |language=es |url-status=dead }}</ref>
It is expected to produce 40 [[megawatt|MW]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://urbanity.blogsome.com/2006/02/13/torre-solar-de-750-metros-en-ciudad-real/ |title=Torre Solar de 750 metros en Ciudad Real |access-date=27 March 2007 |date=13 February 2006 |work=Urbanity.es |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427095503/http://urbanity.blogsome.com/2006/02/13/torre-solar-de-750-metros-en-ciudad-real/ |archive-date=27 April 2007 }}</ref> At that height, it would be nearly twice as tall as the [[Belmont transmitting station|Belmont TV Mast]], which was once the tallest structure in the European Union, before being shortened by 24 meter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aerialsandtv.com/belmonttx.html |title=Belmont Transmitter |access-date=26 March 2007 |work=A.T.V (Aerials and Television)}}</ref>

[[File:Solar Chimney Manzanares-view of the tower through the collector glass roof.JPG|thumb|left|Manzanares Solar Chimney – view of the tower through the collector glass roof]]

In 2001, [[EnviroMission]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Davey |first=R |title=New Green energy technology launches |publisher=Australian Securities Exchange |date=6 August 2001 |url=http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/showSignalgDetail.do?issuerId=4715&announcementId=414439 |access-date=31 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926225534/http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/showSignalgDetail.do?issuerId=4715&announcementId=414439 |archive-date=26 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> proposed to build a solar updraft tower power generating plant known as ''Solar Tower Buronga'' near [[Buronga, New South Wales]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Woody | first = Todd | title = Tower of Power | publisher = CNN | date = 2 October 2006 | url = https://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/08/01/8382232/index.htm | access-date = 9 March 2007 }}</ref> The company did not complete the project. They have plans for a similar plant in Arizona,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enviromission.com.au/EVM/Company/ShowPage.aspx/PDFs/1273-76736470/OperationalOverviewJuly1December312010 |title=ENVIROMISSION Operational Overview |date=July 1 – December 31, 2010 |publisher=EnviroMission Limited |format=PDF |access-date=2012-03-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331154722/http://www.enviromission.com.au/EVM/Company/ShowPage.aspx/PDFs/1273-76736470/OperationalOverviewJuly1December312010 |archive-date=March 31, 2012 }}</ref> and most recently (December 2013) in Texas,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.enviromission.com.au/irm/Company/ShowPage.aspx/PDFs/1413-31639141/TexasTraction | title=EnviroMission Limited }}</ref> but there is no sign of 'breaking ground' in any of Enviromission's proposals.

In December 2011, Hyperion Energy, controlled by [[Western Australia]]ns [[Tony Sage]] and [[Dallas Dempster]], was reported to be planning to build a 1-km-tall solar updraft tower near [[Meekatharra, Western Australia|Meekatharra]] to supply power to Mid-West mining projects.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/business-old/dallas-dempsters-sky-high-comeback/story-e6frg2qu-1226233935573 |title=Dallas Dempster's sky-high comeback |first=Nick |last=Evans |work=The Sunday Times |date=31 December 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Sicht vom Turm auf das Vordach mit geschwärztem Boden.jpg|thumb|upright=2.0|View from the tower on the roof with blackened ground below the collector. One can see the different test materials for canopy cover, and 12 large fields of unblackened ground for agricultural test area.]]

In mid-2008, the [[Namibia]]n government approved a proposal for the construction of a 400 MW solar chimney called the 'Greentower'. The tower is planned to be {{convert|1.5|km|ft}} tall and {{convert|280|m|ft}} in diameter, and the base will consist of a {{convert|37|km2|mi2}} greenhouse in which cash crops can be grown.<ref>{{cite web | last = Cloete| first = R | title =Solar tower sheds light on little-used technology | publisher = Engineering News Online | date = 25 July 2008 | url = http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=137580  | access-date = 17 October 2008 }}</ref>

A model solar updraft tower was constructed in Turkey as a civil engineering project.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/-j1K1vwPZS8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130708181153/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j1K1vwPZS8 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j1K1vwPZS8 |title=solar chimney www.unienerji.com|publisher=YouTube |date=2010-08-21 |access-date=2011-09-11}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Functionality and outcomes are obscure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unienerji.com/?p=310#more-310 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717162810/http://www.unienerji.com/?p=310#more-310 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |title=Güneş Santrali {{pipe}} Güneş Pili |publisher=Unienerji.com |access-date=2011-09-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Koyun A |author2=Üçgül İ |author3=Acar M |author4=Şenol R |title=Güneş Bacası Sisteminin Termal Özet Dizaynı |journal=Tesisat Mühendisliği Dergisi |volume=98 |pages=45–50 |date=2007 |url=http://www.mmoistanbul.org/yayin/tesisat/98/6 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415001750/http://www.mmoistanbul.org/yayin/tesisat/98/6/ |archive-date=2010-04-15 }}</ref>

A second solar updraft tower using a [[transpired collector]] is operating at Trakya University in Edirne, Turkey, and is being used to test various innovations in SUT designs including the ability to recover heat from photovoltaic (PV) arrays.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}
[[File:Solar power tower with PV.jpg|thumbnail|Solar towers can incorporate photovoltaic (PV) modules on transpired collectors for additional daytime output and the heat from PV array is utilised by the solar tower]]

A grade-school pupil's home do-it-yourself SUT demonstration for a school science fair was constructed and studied in 2012, in a suburban Connecticut setting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newtownbee.com/news/education/2013/03/07/st-rose-student-creates-solar-updraft-tower/7775|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203051959/http://newtownbee.com/news/education/2013/03/07/st-rose-student-creates-solar-updraft-tower/7775|url-status=dead|title=St Rose Student Creates Solar Updraft Tower {{pipe}} The Newtown Bee<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Herrick |first=Grace |url=http://wtnh.com/2013/02/20/a-model-solar-updraft-tower-power-plant/ |title={{pipe}} A Model Solar Updraft Tower Power Plant |publisher=WTNH.com |date=2013-02-20 |access-date=2018-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306022942/http://wtnh.com/2013/02/20/a-model-solar-updraft-tower-power-plant/ |archive-date=2018-03-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> With a 7-metre stack and 100 square metre collector, this generated a daily average 6.34&nbsp;mW, from a computer fan as a turbine. Insolation and wind were the major factors on variance (range from 0.12 to 21.78&nbsp;mW) in output.

In [[Xi'an]], central China, a 60-metre urban chimney with surrounding collector has significantly reduced urban air pollution. This demonstration project was led by Cao Jun Ji, a chemist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics.<ref name="nature.com">{{Cite journal | title=China tests giant air cleaner to combat smog| journal=Nature| volume=555| issue=7695| pages=152–153| date=2018-03-06| bibcode=2018Natur.555..152C| last1=Cyranoski| first1=David| doi=10.1038/d41586-018-02704-9| pmid=29517032| doi-access=free}}</ref>  This work has since been published on, with performance data and modelling.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cao |first1=Qingfeng |last2=Kuehn |first2=Thomas H. |last3=Shen |first3=Lian |last4=Chen |first4=Sheng-Chieh |last5=Zhang |first5=Ningning |last6=Huang |first6=Yu |last7=Cao |first7=Junji |last8=Pui |first8=David Y.H. |title=Urban-scale SALSCS, Part I: Experimental Evaluation and Numerical Modeling of a Demonstration Unit |journal=Aerosol and Air Quality Research |date=2018 |volume=18 |issue=11 |pages=2865–2878 |doi=10.4209/aaqr.2018.06.0238 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cao |first1=Qingfeng |last2=Huang |first2=Minghua |last3=Kuehn |first3=Thomas H. |last4=Shen |first4=Lian |last5=Tao |first5=Wen-Quan |last6=Cao |first6=Junji |last7=Pui |first7=David Y.H. |title=Urban-scale SALSCS, Part II: A Parametric Study of System Performance |journal=Aerosol and Air Quality Research |date=2018 |volume=18 |issue=11 |pages=2879–2894 |doi=10.4209/aaqr.2018.06.0239 }}</ref>