A company with a novel wind technology is about to test it out in Arizona.
Clean Wind Energy Tower (CWET.OB) will build its first two "Downdraft Towers" and a component assembly plant in San Luis, Arizona.
The company says each Downdraft Tower can generate electricity for up to 1.6 million homes!
While it’s under construction, they anticipate creating 2500 wind jobs in construction, and 1000 manufacturing jobs. Each Tower will require about 1,000 permanent employees.
Here’s how it works:
The Downdraft Tower is a hollow cylinder with a water spray system at the top. Pumps deliver water to the top where a fine mist of water is sprayed across the entire opening.
The water evaporates and cools the hot dry air at the top. The cooled air is denser and heavier than the outside warmer air and falls through the cylinder at speeds up to and in excess of 50 mph, driving the turbines located at the base of the structure. The turbines power generators to produce electricity.
In geographic areas where atmospheric conditions are conducive, the exterior of the Downdraft Tower may be constructed with vertical "wind vanes" that capture the prevailing wind and channel it to produce supplemental electrical power. This dual renewable energy resource enhances the system’s capability and productivity.
Clean Wind says each Downdraft Tower will be able to generate up to 2,500 megawatts per hour – a third of that will be used to power its operations.
The company says the cost of the energy will be less than that of a nuclear plant.
Sounds great, but with extreme drought conditions in Arizona only expected to get worse, we wonder how much water they need and where it will come from.
Here’s their website:
Does this company have any sort of track record? This and other articles I’ve seen today about the project seem more appropriately run on April 1.