• Visitors can check out the Forum FAQ by clicking this link. You have to register before you can post: click the REGISTER link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. View our Forum Privacy Policy.
  • Want to receive the latest contracting news and advice straight to your inbox? Sign up to the ContractorUK newsletter here. Every sign up will also be entered into a draw to WIN £100 Amazon vouchers!

Solar One

Collapse
X
  •  
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Solar One

    Anyone who has done any hill walking or serious hiking will know that when you come around the corner of a hill, and you see a town or village, there is an easy way to locate the centre, where the food, drink and accommodation are.
    Just look for the church spire or other landmark.

    A couple of weeks ago I was travelling through the Kalahari desert, heading for a town called Upington, in South Africa. We came around a bend in the road and I saw a landmark, on a hill. So I knew the town was close and I knew where to head for. The only problem was that we were far , far away from the town, so this landmark must be enormous.

    When we arrived in the town, we found a hotel but there was no sign of that massive structure in the town centre and I was puzzled. Where had it gone ?
    I found out the next day when we went exploring to the west , along the Orange river. We saw it a few kilometres west of the town, in the desert, not on a hill, but massive. Hulking.

    What could it be ? Most things in locations like this are associated with water. That's why most towns in the US or Australia have water names, like Clearwater, Bitter Creek, Sweetwater, Springfield etc, etc.
    But it was not a water tower. Not a grain silo. Too hulking for a communications tower. This thing is massive. We joked that it looked like a futuristic solar collector from a sci fi game , like Alpha Centuri.

    And that is exactly what it is. 200m high. It is straight out of a science fiction film, taller than the Gherkin, it is surrounded by mirrors which will boil water in a tank. The steam will drive turbines to produce electricity

    super heated steam will provide electricity up to 2 hours after the sun goes down


    I got these piccies -





    (\__/)
    (>'.'<)
    ("")("") Born to Drink. Forced to Work

    #2
    Solar Towers, been around for a while now.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_tower
    "Being nice costs nothing and sometimes gets you extra bacon" - Pondlife.

    Comment


      #3
      You missed the chance of free food.

      Solar Power Towers Are 'Vaporizing' Birds | Popular Science.

      Over a six-hour period, biologists counted 130 "streamers," or trails of smoke and water left behind as birds ignited and plummeted to their deaths. Rewire’s anonymous source said that at least one of the birds "turned white hot and vaporized completely."
      England's greatest sailor since Nelson lost the armada.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Uncle Albert View Post
        That would be fun to watch, just like a huge insect zapper thingy.
        I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful. [Christopher Hitchens]

        Comment


          #5
          Very cool. This would make a good newspaper/magazine article. Is that really your own pic?

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by unixman View Post
            Very cool. This would make a good newspaper/magazine article. Is that really your own pic?
            Yep, I took them with my trusty old 'point n click' Panasonic TZ30.

            The sun was rising behind me and the moon setting in front. I drove like a bat out of hell down the motorway to get the moon setting in the shot.

            We were on our last leg of the trip, from upington to st Helena bay, just north of Cape Town.

            I will post some before and after shots, to give it some context.
            (\__/)
            (>'.'<)
            ("")("") Born to Drink. Forced to Work

            Comment


              #7
              If scientists/engineers can nail efficient long distance transmission of the power harnessed then that's (e.g.) the USA's entire future energy needs taken care of.
              Originally posted by Nigel Farage MEP - 2016-06-24 04:00:00
              "I hope this victory brings down this failed project and leads us to a Europe of sovereign nation states, trading together, being friends together, cooperating together, and let's get rid of the flag, the anthem, Brussels, and all that has gone wrong."

              Comment


                #8
                Pretty cool. Thanks for the pics.
                Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                Originally posted by vetran
                Urine is quite nourishing

                Comment


                  #9
                  Shame it's so ugly.

                  Nice picture though.
                  Will work inside IR35. Or for food.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    this was a few km before






                    this was a few km after. if you look closely, you can just see the rim of the moon to the left.
                    I had great hopes for that shot. but it bummed out
                    (\__/)
                    (>'.'<)
                    ("")("") Born to Drink. Forced to Work

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X