Arizona Gets New Wind Tower

W

hen you think of wind power, you usually picture quaint Dutch windmills or those modern wind turbines that resemble airplane propellers, but a new way of harnessing energy from wind has been created, and it’s just been approved for use in Arizona.

Called Downdraft Wind Towers, these new power producers work by using water to force a downdraft that powers turbines that produce electricity. The structures are 2,000 foot tall cylinders with numerous vents on the outside. Water is pumped in and sprayed at the top of the cylinder. The water cools the air, causing it to sink at speeds of 50 miles per hour. More wind comes through the vents and the down-rushing air passes through a turbine at the bottom.

The tower is capable of producing 1,100 megawatt-hours, about half of which will be sold to the power grid. The rest will power the plant itself. According to Clean Wind Energy Tower, Inc., the company that developed the towers, they should produce enough energy to power 800,000 homes.

The first tower will be built near San Luis, Arizona, near the California and Mexican borders, with water coming from the Sea of Cortez.

See the video below for more information on this new wind-power technology.