Not primarily recognized for being one of the leaders in renewable energy, but Israel will soon be flying past everyone’s expectations with the creation of what will be the world’s tallest solar tower. They will join others who have also recognized the potential of these towers, including Morocco, South Africa, and the current world’s tallest, in the Mojave desert in California. This should give the country the lift it needs to climb the ladder to get one step closer to achieving their renewable energy goals.
The Ashalim Tower will be situated in the Negev desert, and as well as being over 240 meters tall, it will be covered in stainless steel that will make it visible from miles away. It also contains 55,000 projecting mirrors that turn towards the sun to ensure maximum efficiency. Its physical size is not the only thing that is big either. The cost of constructing the tower is estimated to be around 500 million Euros and is being backed by U.S. company General Electric, French company Alstom, and Israeli private investment fund, Noy.
Other investors come in the form of the government who have made an agreement to purchase electricity from the tower over a period of 25 years to help in the mission to change towards renewable energy use. But, it does still need some work as the cost of producing energy from the tower is about three times more expensive than traditional electricity plants even though everything is connected through WiFi connections rather than cables.
Even though the tower is massive, there are still limits in its capabilities. Typically, researchers are expecting the tower to provide 121 megawatts of energy which will provide electricity for around 100,000 households. But, this is only a small part of the equation as there are several million households in the whole of Israel.
There will be further towers erected in the desert as this is the perfect environment to house them and the more that are built, the less expensive they will be. By using just 4 percent of the Negev desert, Israel could provide solar energy as an alternative to all its electricity demands. However, critics are worried that it is too much of an investment for Israel and that it is too complicated to carry out.
Only time will tell if there will be an abundance of these constructed all over Israel’s desert, or if we will just see one or two pop up and then die down again in time for another energy saving plan to come to fruition. It is a very good idea as long as the costs can be brought down enough to be the energy efficient device that Israel is hoping for.
Story Via; The Journal.ie / Project PDF
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