Novel Applications
The Pit Power Tower combines a Solar Power Tower and an Aero-electric Power Tower in a decommissioned open pit mine. Traditional Solar Power Towers are constrained in size by the height of the tower and closer heliostats blocking the line of sight of outer heliostats to the receiver. The use of the pit mine's "stadium seating" helps overcome the blocking constraint.
As Solar Power Towers commonly use steam to drive the turbines, and water tends to be scarce in regions with high solar energy, another advantage of open pits is that they tend to collect water, having been dug below the water table. The Pit Power Tower uses low heat steam to drive the Pneumatic Tubes in a co-generation system. A third benefit of re-purposing a pit mine for this kind of project is the possibility of reusing mine infrastructure such as roads, buildings and electricity.
Read more about this topic: Solar Power Tower