Hot Air

Recently I read an article on CNN explaining a new potential form of energy that harnesses the power of rising hot air. They used the example of how an attic is always hotter than the rest of the house because hot air rises. Well this new form of alternative energy intends to harness this energy using towers and a very large canopy. The canopy would work similar to how a hot air balloon works. He plans to eventually build a 2600 foot high tower with a canopy larger than a football field. And when it is all said and done, the air lifting and lowering the canopy will spin several turbines fast enough to generate 200 megawatts of power (enough to power 100,000 homes). And this is only one of the many benefits this generator will bring. The air powered generator doesn't need any water to function, unlike many other forms of energy. It will be generating energy during the day and at night, unlike solar power and tidal power, because as the air warms up in the morning, the canopy will rise turning the turbines, and when the air finally cools at night, the canopy will fall, once again spinning the turbines. And the final benefit is that it will work when there is wind or when the weather is calm unlike wind turbines. The reason this structure has not been built yet is because of the enormous cost of creating a 800 meter tall building would take years to offset the costs. It is estimated to cost $750 million to build the structure. Another concern for environmentalists is will the benefit of creating the 800 meter structure offset the environmental costs to haul in all the materials and to run gas powered machines day and night to create this building. The Mohammad Taslim, the spokesman for Enviromission assures that the benefits of this form of energy will far outweigh the costs. In fact he said the amount of CO2 released in the creating of this structure would be offset by the clean energy created in less than 3 years. Overall, this form of energy seems like a feasible option in theory, but until an idea like this gets funding, it will never become a reality. If you have any questions regarding this post, please comment below. Thanks for reading!