Effect of Tower Height and Collector Radius on Performance of Solar Updraft Tower Power Plant

Introduction

Renewable energy with its creative and innovative use is the need of the hour in order to obtain cheap but steady supply electricity. It is abundant in nature and has a bright future. The six sources of renewable energy are solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, hydro energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy. These sources are used in different fields, wherever there is consumption of energy. Solar energy is beneficial in many situations, especially for rural area households (Neeraj K., 2018; Aditya k. et al. 2019). Use of mini isolated solar power plants for the supply of electricity for schools and houses especially in rural areas places with difficult terrains can be boon for the students as well their future (Sumit et al., 2020).

With technological advancements and population growth, the electricity demand and consumption is increasing for which the limited conventional energy resources are depleting. The whole world is going through the process of industrialization, urbanization and population growth and may also go through energy crisis in the near future. Also, fossil fuels which are limited in nature and their use for power generation is causing environmental pollution and therefore, renewable energy resources, which are an alternative solution to these problems are essential for generation of electricity to deal with the electricity demands. A renewable energy resource like solar energy that is abundant in nature and is eco-friendly is a better option to meet such challenges in the near future. Solar energy is already being used to produce electricity with the help of photovoltaic panels and many other technologies. And among these many solar energy technologies the solar updraft power plant is a noble promising technology which can be used to supply power to countries with large wastelands or unused desert lands.