If you’re going to build a huge building in the desert, cover it in solar panels
This proposed building with water and convection powered AC, solar power, and hydrogen generation for night-time electrical power generation (via fuel cells) has been covered by several blogs and sites (Engadget, Metaefficient, Der Spiegel). I think it’s encouraging that an oil-rich nation is using the renewable resources readily at hand (sun, ocean water) to generate power and cool the building.
This skyscraper, to be built in Dubai, is called the Burj al-Taqa (‘Energy Tower’), and it will produce 100% of its own power. The tower will have a huge (197 foot diameter) wind turbine on its roof, and arrays of solar cells that will total 161,459 square feet in size. Additional energy is provided by an island of solar panels, which drifts in the sea within viewing distance of the tower.
I also read that the tower will generate enough power for several buildings nearby. How cool is that!
A key to this project is the advancement in materials science makes new windows and glass possible that reflect and transmit less heat than ever before. Here in colder climes, this isn’t a big deal, in the desert? Well yeah, you can imagine that your typical greenhouse would become a transparent broiler in a matter of minutes in the summer. Yikes. And pass over some marshmallows!
Tags: solar energy, alternative energy, hydrogen fuel cells, Burj al-Taqa
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