Over the past few days, we have come across some really inventive energy projects. On Monday of this week, we told you a little bit about the Solar Roadways project. The project we are looking at today, however, is a wholly new way to generate energy. The Solar Wind Energy Tower uses a combination of solar and wind power to generate electricity. Further, the tower could potentially produce as much electricity as Hoover Dam.

I can’t even begin to describe how it works, so here is the official explanation:

The patented structure is comprised of a tall hollow cylinder with a water injection system near the top and wind tunnels containing turbines near the bottom.

To start, a series of pumps deliver water to the Tower’s injection system at the top where a fine mist is cast across the entire opening. The water introduced by the injection system then evaporates and is absorbed by hot dry air which has been heated by the solar rays of the sun.  As a result, the air becomes cooler, denser and heavier than the outside warmer air, and falls through the cylinder at speeds up to and in excess of 50 mph. This air is then diverted into wind tunnels surrounding the base of the Tower where turbines inside the tunnels power generators to produce electricity.¹

So, more or less, water is sprayed at the top to weigh down hot air. As the hot air drops to the bottom of the tower, it reaches speed in excess of 50 mph. This air is then pushed through turbines that generate electricity. On top of generating clean energy, the tower will power itself. Further, as the tower does not rely solely on the sun, it can operate 24 hours a day, giving it a huge leg up on solar energy. The tower pumps out a ton of energy:

Under the most recent design specifications, the Tower designed for a site near San Luis, Arizona, has a gross production capacity on an hourly basis, of up to 1,250 megawatt hours. Due to lower capacities during winter days, the average hourly output per day for sale to the grid for the entire year averages approximately 435 megawatt hours/hr.²

Here is a goo look at the Solar Wind Energy Tower in use: