TECH

The world's largest solar tower is in the desert

Israel has the largest solar power tower in the world. They are 240 meters high in the middle of the Negev desert, in the south of the country.
It is the equivalent of a 50-story building (the tower is much taller than some of the world's largest skyscrapers) and aims to help the country produce 10% of its energy through renewable sources by next year .
This country in the Middle East had a very short time ago with a production of 2.5% renewable energy, a very low level compared to what the 240-meter Ashalim tower is capable of.
This is a concentrated solar power project (Concentrating Solar Power - CSP).
It has 50,600 computer-controlled mirrors (heliostats) with up to 20 square meters each, occupying an area of ​​3 square kilometers.
Throughout the day and through the movement of the sun, the mirrors have the ability to reflect light on a boiler located at the top of the Ashalim tower, thus not generating electricity directly as with solar photovoltaic cells. Operators work on the heliostat assembly - Ashalim Solar Tower The heat from the sunlight directed to the boiler at the top of the tower allows the production of superheated steam through the hot water that is in that boiler. The infrared solar radiation that the mirrors can capture is reflected in the boiler, causing a thermal process of steam capable of moving huge turbines.
The solar energy produced by this tower, whose construction began in the year 2013 and culminated in 2017, is capable of illuminating 125 thousand houses. The contract was designed for 25 years.
This auspicious project and one of the largest solar projects in the world enables the country to avoid 110 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere each year.

The Ashalim tower manages to store energy for use at night and thus provides electricity continuously.
The choice of the Negev desert for the construction of this tower will not have been a mere chance since in this place there are more than 300 days of sun per year. In fact, there is sunshine almost all year round.
Israel is striding towards a sustainable future, and this tower, along with its giant natural gas deposits along its Mediterranean coast, is an example. Renewable Energy Magazine